Here comes the Bride!

It is finally Bridalrama weekend! I always look forward to working with Bridal and Formal and doing these fashion shows. Every summer and winter they have these Bridal Expos at the Duke Energy Center in Downtown Cincinnati. John and I are always in the show together which makes it so much fun! We had rehearsals on Friday night and then Saturday I had to be there at the crack of dawn to get my hair and makeup done. I love hanging out with my fellow lady models- Robin and Kara I love you girls so much! The shows went by so fast!

It was soon Sunday and time seemed to be flying by. I love all my dresses- they were gorgeous! I was the finale girl for each song and at the end of the Cheetah Girls song "Cinderella", they wanted me to wear a huge tiara, so they had me wear my Miss Ohio crown! At the end of the shows they introduced me to the audience as Miss Ohio USA 2010 and I received so many congradulations. Deb Knoske was even there taking photos, so Robin, Kara, and myself had to do a mini photo shoot in our beautiful gowns! I had an absolute blast this weekend and can't wait till the summer shows!

Kenzie's Closet and The Purse Vault

I was invited this Wednesday to the Kenzie's Closet "In the Bag" fundraiser. I brought along my mom for a much needed girls night out. We arrived at the Hyde Park Country Club and didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into. I was sort of familiar with the charity and didn't realize how involved it was. I always believed that Kenzie's Closet was a place fr high school girls to pick up a prom dress if you couldn't afford one. Boy was I wrong! Kenzie's Closet helps these girls out be putting their whole look together. From shoes to jewelry, from gloves to purses, from shaws to alterations! This charity is a great one to get involved with! Brynne, the founder, asked if I would like to come help out the girls get ready for prom. I thought it was an excellent idea and an offer I must take her up on!

The building for the party was decorated in hot pink and black and they had candy layouts with tiara shaped cookies! I soon met Deb Knoske there, who was the photographer for the evening. LOVE HER!!! :) One of the big fundraisers that night was called The Purse Vault. You could buy a ticket for $25 and go in the "vault" and pick out a gently used designer handbag. You could even buy a $100 ticket and pick up a highend designer purse (I saw a Louis Vuitton and so wanted it!!) I decided there was no way I could pass that up and ended up picking out a dark brown leather Furla satchel with a $10 Starbucks gift card, jewelry cleaner, and a $100 off coupn for plastic surgery (which I will not be using).

The night was very eventful and I got to meet some awesome women! At the end of the night I drew the winners name for the Grand Prize-A Naples Trip. Congrats Sandra!!!!

More Traveling and Training...And My Photo Shoot With Carter Studios!

It was another fun weekend on the road and in a new city. Friday afternoon I left for Pittsburgh for some more training with my little sis, Miss Michigan, and the West Virginia ladies. I arrived later that night at the Hyatt in the Pittsburgh airport and immediately Rima and I got situated in our room. We then met with Melissa and Randy (director of PA, WV, and IN) and went over the weekend and everything that would be happening. We then watched a fun film with the behind the scenes of Miss USA 2006. It was soon time to go to bed (Bridget finally arrived later).

I woke up Saturday to help Bridget get her things together for her Carter Studios shoot and we had a quick breakfast at the hotel restaurant. It was YUMMY! After helping Bridget carry her things, it was time to get my workout in. I now had to get ready for the day, eat lunch while watching Miss USA 2009, and then at noon it was my turn to shoot with Carter Studios. Heather did an amazing job on my hair and makeup. Jonathan was a ton of fun to work with too! (Pants on the ground, looking like a fool with your pants on the ground!)

It then was time to meet with Melissa on a one on one session. She was able to give me that extra boost of confidence and really helped me put things into perspective. Now it was time for the most memorable part of the weekend- walking the airport lobby with our swimsuits on! I really didn't feel uncomfortableat 1st until several older men started taking pictures on their phone! But it was a funny experience.

We then walked back to Randy's room, watched Susie Castillo's year at Miss USA and then we were dismissed for the night. We were all starving so Bridget and I decided to go ahead and order Italian, since nothing else was open. (Kim caught us though lol) It had been a long day and I was so happy to hit the sack, even though I had to share my bed with a certain little sister. haha

We woke up pretty late Sunday morning and scrambled to get ready to meet Melissa for breakfast and say our goodbyes. I stayed behind a little while longer to get my workout in and when I was done it was back off to Cincinnati. Home Sweet Home!!!

My Dream Gown

My one day dress shopping trip turned into a 3 day adventure! I was suppose to go up to Catan's in Strongsville with Melissa on Monday the 15th early in the morning and come back home later that night. But the weather report was saying that there would be a very bad snow storm on Monday (the day we needed to come up there on). We had no choice because time was running out to pick out my gown. Melissa then called me up to ask if it would be alright to leave on Sunday night and spend the night up close to Catan's. (I got to spend Valentine's Day night with my Director :) I agreed and once I got done with work, I went back home packed and was ready for our little trip.

On our way up there, Melissa and I were talking about literally everything! But mostly about the pageant. She and I both had so many questions for each other! When we finally arrived up at Strongsville we found the hotel and crashed for the night. I woke up early in the morning to work out and then met Melissa at the hotel's restaurant for a quick breakfast. It was now time to go dress exploring! (But not before Melissa got her Starbucks!)

We arrived at this huge dress store , I mean HUGE!! We immediately met Patrice, who was phenomenal! Everyone pulled lots of dresses to try on but there was this one that kept catching my eye. I would go through looking at the dresses and keep coming back to this one, there was just something about it. For me I loved all the dresses but Melissa knew what she liked and what she thought I should wear. One of the last dresses was this Tony Bowls and Melissa loved it! It was very sparkly and had chiffon. It was the perfect pageant dress! But for me I knew it just wasn't the one... There was just a voice inside my head that said "NO. NO. NO." That same voice that told me once before when I was looking for my gown for Miss Ohio that told me not to wear the gold dress.

I still had one dress left to try on, the one that I kept going back to. When I put it on and looked in the mirror I just knew it was the one! (I didn't even care what Melissa would say at the moment) I came out though and she was blown away! She looked at me up and down and said "That's your dress!" I was in LOVE with it! It was totally me and fit my style and personality. I literally felt this dress was made for me. After only 2 hours of looking through dresses, I was all set. Patrice then would order it in my size and length (I'm a tall girl so I would need it a bit longer). She then would add her own personal touches and alterations. I'm so excited and can't wait to see the finished product!

Bridget later came and met up with us after her classes. We wanted her to try on a few dresses and get ideas for Miss Teen USA. Of course she looked beautiful in anything she tried on but her last dress was drop dead gorgeous! She loved it to, which is all that really matters. We then all had a quick lunch and soon it was time for Melissa and I to head back home. But first we had to stop at Starbucks one last time.

As we drove back south, the snow was getting heavier and heavier. After only an hour and half of driving we came to a complete stop on 71 south. There had been a 4o car pile up just North of Columbus and the roads were absolutely terrible! We were stuck in that same spot for 6 hours (I'm not lying either!). We weren't moving and there were no exits for miles. It was funny though because all the Starbucks Melissa drank went right through her and she was dying for a bathroom! I couldn't help but laugh! We were starving also! We had nothing to eat for dinner and all we had was water on us. But at the same time it was fun and that moment really bonded Melissa and I.

It was now midnight when we finally arrived at Polaris just North of Columbus and we decided to get Arby's and stay at a hotel. We both were just dying to get home! Melissa had a presentation the next day and I had work. The roads were just way to bad for anybody to be driving on. We woke up the next day to the roads completely cleared and salted. We made a quick stop to Tim Horton's for breakfast and were back on the road. We soon arrived back home in Cincinnati. It was a fun trip and a memory I will never forget!

Deb Knoske ROCKS!

It is the day I have been looking forward to for awhile!! The day I shoot with Deb Knoske!!!!!!!!! I was so excited when I woke up this morning. Bridget was coming down to Cincinnati to shoot with me and I was so happy to see her! We met at the Hyatt in Blue Ash at 10:30am to find Melissa and Deb going through wardrobe and pulling together different looks. Salon Bastille even showed up to do our hair and makeup! They did a wonderful job and I looked amazing. Our 1st look we shot in was winter white where Bridget and I shot together in the snow (it was about 30 degrees out, no big deal!). Then we posed together lying down on a couch and finally seperately.
I my seperate shot would be for the Miss USA website.

I then changed into a red/burgundy outfit and after that shot into a brown dress that I wore with my crown. Finally it was time for the fun shot! Bridal and Formal let us borrow these insanely beautiful gowns for us to shoot in! Bridget's was red and mine green. We went outside once again and had to hold up the dresses to avoid getting anything on them. It was a blast!

When we finally wrapped up and finished I went back to New View to look at some of the pictures (we even ended up taking several more!). Thank you Deb for everything! I'm sure the pictures will turn out amazing! You are truly gifted!

My Beautiful New Smile :)

It was my final day of dental work from the wonderful West Chester Dental Group. I have gone there several times now and my smile keeps looking better and better. Today they wanted to check up on a few things and see how everything is going. My smile transformation is now complete and I'm so happy about it! Later on today I had to meet with Melissa and my personal trainer Adam Rankin with Top Tier Training, at New View Agency to check on how my body is looking. Rima even showed up later for them to check on her too. So far I'm looking alright but now it is time to kick it up a notch. I need a national winner body. I'm going to keep working hard and I will get there!!