The season seems to be on the verge of changing here in Pittsburgh, and I think the above-freezing temperatures and return of the sun will help to improve moods.  Here are some things you can do to make the countdown to spring – or anytime of the year – more bearable.

1. Write yourself love notes
I’ve filled up pages of notes to myself, from “Drink more water,” to “You can do it,” and  ”You CAN be successful.”
I think the process of writing things and seeing them right in front of your face all day is a great reminder that you can do anything you want to do.

2. Make yourself amazing mixes
Music moves me. I always have a rotating mix of “new songs,” which are not even necessarily current songs, but tunes that are new to me. I love post-punk and new wave, and I often create mixes of these genres for listening to while driving in the car or exercising

3. Buy yourself something nice
I enjoy treating myself once a week to something special, my latest purchase being this pair of pretty floral tights. I wear a lot of black, so this small pop of color made everyone in the office take notice and tell me how nice I looked. Beauty treats help, too. Every five weeks I get a cut and color from Beth at Evolve, and I always leave feeling pretty and refreshed. Eyebrow waxes and facials from bloom organic skincare parlor also make me feel more relaxed and my skin look great.

4. Exercise
Every time I feel bad about myself, the first thing Richard Wayne will always ask me is, “Are you exercising?” Lately, I’ve been trying to incorporate yoga and spinning into my life, which does help a lot with my self-depreciation woes. I also try to incorporate as much walking, taking the stairs, and dancing into my life as I can.

5. Write friends real letters
I have two pen pals: LA photographer Chloe Aftel, and one of my dear friends from college, Seattle based graphic designer, Erica Wong. Every time I get one of their hand written letters, it completely makes my day and makes me feel great that someone cares to take the time to write me.

6. Treat yourself to something delicious
I love coffee. I usually drink two cups a day, but sometimes, on a special day, I’ll have three cups. I import my favorite coffee, Blue Bottle, from San Francisco to Pittsburgh. It is a part of my morning ritual and makes me feel really happy. The second cup I buy is always an Americano with a double shot of espresso for a $1.66. It may add up day after day, but it’s a habit that makes the day a little easier to handle, so it’s worth it.

7. Problems? Fix them.
Do you wish that you and your boyfriend spent more quality time together? Make it happen! Since moving to Pittsburgh, I had wanted to visit an art museum calle The Mattress Factory. I could not expect Richard to read my mind that I wanted to go, so one week, I said, “This weekend, let’s spend a day together and visit this place.” He said OK, and we had a great time!

Are things not going well at work? Instead of perpetuating problems with co-workers, just talk to them about it. Today I felt bad because I was not invited to a meeting that my entire team went to. Instead of being upset inside about it, when they got back I said, “Next time, can I be invited to this?” Guess what, I am!

I am finally feeling comfortable with being more direct about my problems. I keep finding that, generally, the person was not even aware that I was upset, or they want to work with me to fix them.

8. Think about what you have
Your mom always said, “Things could be worse,” and she’s right – they can. Think about the things you have and remember that. I personally am thankful to have a really nice digital camera to make my art with, and a computer to edit the photos. I also feel thankful that I have so much love and support from my family and friends. The days I feel especially low about my physical self, I try to remember these things. It helps.

9. Help someone else
I LOVE giving presents. Birthday presents, surprise presents, love letters, and treats. Recently Richard Wayne and I bought our favorite bartender a dress she wanted. She was so surprised when we arrived one night with a box just for her. It makes my day to know that I made someone else’s!

10. Realize that imperfections are beautiful
I grew up hating my European nose. As a child, I wrote diary entries about how when I was 25, I would get a nose job. Well, I’m a few years past that mark, and it’s still here in all its pointy glory. I don’t know what happened, but somehow I stopped obsessing over my nose and realized that it’s a part of my face that makes me look like me.

I think self love  is something that has to be a dedicated daily practice, because it’s often easier to feel bad about something than to figure out how to make it better. I read a quote from Yoko Ono recently that said something like, “Try to not talk negative about someone for three hours, then three days, then three months. Can you do it?” All I want in life is to make pretty images and feel fulfilled. I don’t want negativity in my head, or from my environment. Think about it and tell me what you do to practice self-appreciation.

Today the skies are grey, the snow is still falling, and I find myself daydreaming about Forbidden Island tiki drinks, driving down Highway 1, and visiting my friends in snow-free San Francisco. Some positive things that have happened during this last frigid week: I was able to span lots of time with my honey, and my new, sophisticated KCP business cards, designed by Nubbytwiglet, arrived.

I have been collaborating with another talented person, Erin Corbett, who is a photo re-toucher living right down the street from us. We have been using our combined forces to revamp the website of a local skincare parlor called Bloom. I am also working on her business identity, and she is using her skills to help me with my photography portfolio!

Other wonderful things include: receiving real letters from my photographer pen-pal, Chloe Aftel, who constantly inspires and pushes me to be a better artist; wearing my new Betsey Johnson coat, which I bought for a steal and whose heart buttons make me feel happy; watching the documentary about American figure skater Johnny Weir, “Pop Star on Ice,” which I found to be completely inspiring; and discovering a love of yoga, which I have been doing once a week with Erin Corbett.

This morning I heard birds chirping, and these winter days are starting to make their exit. At the end of the month, I am taking a much needed trip home to California to see family and friends, and I am very excited about that! Tell me things that are making you feel wonderful.

Cloth Logic (Tulle’s menswear line) had a big sale this month, and being that I’m never opposed to any opportunity to amplify my resemblance to Link Wray in this photo, I purchased, at a deep discount, the classic, black canvas trench I’m wearing in the photos below. Unfortunately, like the image of Link Wray on the beach, I’m standing amidst a blanket of frigid snow.

I’ve kinda got this thing for flashy shoes. Since most of my wardrobe is made up of neutrals, especially black, I like to give my outfits a pop of pizzaz with a bold pair of boots. A few weeks back, I decided to treat myself to a new pair since my grey cowboy kicks with the fancy silver toe and heel rands are about to kick the bucket. After searching the internet far and wide, I landed on the Giorgio Brutini website and purchased these slinky, snakeskin ankle boots.

I’m fortunate to be in a loving relationship with a lady who knows my style well. Part of my Valentine’s Day gift this year was this silver-chained, trinket necklace from Heresy Designs on Etsy that features an antler tip (don’t worry, dear animal-loving friends, I believe it’s faux), a crucifix, and a Mother Mary medallion. It’s a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n’ roll. Just like me, I guess.

In the photo above, I’m also wearing a new black button down from H&M. It’s constructed of this very smooth, cotton-stretch material, and the buttons are concealed behind a subtly sleek, ribbon placket.

As a side note, I’d like to say that even though H&M is quite hit-or-miss as far as their inventory goes, I find their sizing to be reliably consistent, and that’s comforting. We were in a kind of rush to get out of the store, and this svelte shirt just kind of popped out at me on the rack as we made our way to the checkout counter. I grabbed the first small I saw, confident that trying it on was unnecessary. When I got home and buttoned it up, I discovered how right I was. Fits like a glove!

And finally, a couple of weeks ago, Kristin hepped me the blog of clothing retailer, 80’s Purple. In a recent entry, they featured a hair grooming product called “Grant’s Golden Brand Pomade.” I have been using pomade to style my hair since I can remember and have always been frustrated by either a deficiency in hold, a lack of luster, a greasiness that gunks up both pillowcases and pores alike, or the fact that it just plain won’t wash out. But this company boasts its hair treatment as having the tenacity it takes to keep up a coiffure, the ability to be re-styled for hours, and a water-based formula that washes out in the shower.

Well, two out of three ain’t bad. It sure does style and hold my hair well and washes out easily with water. But the claim that it allows re-styling is a load of crap. After a few minutes of saturation in my hair, it stiffens up as though I’ve applied hairspray. And unless you’re a masochist, trying to comb through that would not be fun. Now, I’d generally be willing to overlook this mild inconvenience, but at nearly $30 per 4 oz. container (including shipping), a product better deliver everything my ‘do demands!

That’s it for now, but keep your eyes peeled for a post about the very handsome, handmade, detective-style wallet holster Kristin gave me for Christmas (if we can ever figure out how to get a handle on the unctuousness of the leather – more to come about that). Stay warm!

Photographer Bunny Yeager, a model herself. She took the most famous photographs of pin-up beauty Bettie Page.

I want the weather to warm up so I can take photographs of girls dancing in trees.

This image reminds me of Dee Larsen, my Parisian muse, whom I miss daily.

Jessica M. found my model twin. More than a few friends really thought this was me!

In dreams.

“Believe that you can do it, even if it is ‘a dream job’. Someone has to do it, so it might as well be you!”
-Leanne Ford

Name: Leanne Ford
Location: Nashville TN! . .. .and NY . . .and LA. . .. and Pittsburgh
Occupation: Wardrobe Stylist

Ten things that describe who you are.
Creative, A good time, Kind, Carefree, Gypsy, Open, Loving, Tomato-lover, Dance maniac, Sing-a-longer.

Tell me about your personal style.
Fashionably Scrubby? If grandma used to be a hippie rocker chick, I am the grandma.

Do you have a favorite artist? Photographer?
Hmm, I have favorite writers: Dorothy Parker, Jack Kerouac, CS Lewis. I really love photography, but not the kind I am involved in. I love documentary photography, getting life and people and places and showing them beautifully without changing anything about what you are shooting. And I love love love music! All kinds, but to sum up my style of music, I would say anything from Lost Highway Records.

When did you realize that styling could be a viable career choice?
It was pretty much a fluke. I realized I could and should be a stylist when people started calling me and asking me to style for them! I was working in PR for Roxy, and the VP of Design and I had a mutual admiration club going, so she would ask me to come on the shoots and style. I was so excited because it was in Palm Desert, which is so fun. Then, a magazine in California, FOAM, that I worked with called and asked me if I was interested in being their Fashion Editor. So for two years I conceptualized, produced, and styled three shoots an issue. When I moved back to New York, I realized I had a huge portfolio of work and could style full time. It really worked out perfectly for me.

When did you decide to become a freelancer?
When I realized I could! It is perfect for me. I am able to be where I want, when I want. I do not have to call off for my two weeks vacation, and I can make a nice amount of money to have a nice life. And the sky is the limit, the options are totally open. Those are all great things for me as a person.

First off, for a limited time, ModCloth is having a big “Cabin Fever Sale” in which selected items are 70% off! Go here and check out the goods.

Hopeless Lingerie is making affordable and beautiful silk bow headbands, which you can buy in various colors through their Etsy store.

Richard Wayne sent me a link to fashion site, 80s Purple and I was pleasantly surprised to recognize the work of an LA photographer that I admire, Julia Galdo!

Last weekend I had the pleasure to work with model Bobbi Wall and stylist Lindsay Williams for a Margot Tenenbaum-inspired photo shoot. Check out some of our images! It was probably the coldest weather I’ve ever photographed in, and the only fashion images I have with snow!

Other things that are making daily life happier: bi-weekly shipments of my favorite San Francisco treat, Blue Bottle Coffee; NubbyTwiglet’s Week In Pictures (who doesn’t adore a lady who has an affinity for taxidermy and wears stilettos at home?); beautiful letters, music, and cards sent from friends; my new houndstooth baby doll coat; and daydreams of an upcoming California visit.

Today is the anniversary of the day my favorite cowboy Richard Wayne Brown arrived into the world. Our long convoluted tale brings us both together in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I thought it would be fitting to interview the man of my heart about his job as a ModCloth fashion writer, style, Star Wars, music, and himself.

Name: Richard Wayne Brown, the Sequel
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Occupation: Fashion Writer for ModCloth.com

Ten words that describe you?

After much deliberation, I’ve decided upon the following words, in no particular order: neo-luddite, considerate, nostalgic, soft-spoken, thrifty, small, tuneful, sartorial, corny, principled.

You are making me a mix tape. What are three songs you would put on it?

Who would make a mix tape with only three songs on it? Haha. I suppose, right now, the first three songs I’d put on it might be “Rare as the Yeti” by Kid Congo and the Pink Monkeybirds, “Mother of Earth” by the Gun Club, and “Sad Waters” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Funny, Kid Congo is/was in all of these bands!

Tell me about the daily activities of a ModCloth fashion writer.

On a typical day, as soon as I get to the office, I check email and catch up on the new products and blogs that have been posted to our site. Then, at about 10:30, the writers get together to brainstorm names for products that haven’t been launched yet. For the rest of the day, we write descriptions for those products and work on copy for any blogs, newsletters, etc. that we’ve been assigned. Sometimes we have meetings interspersed throughout the day, and usually we have quite a bit of fun cracking jokes.

How do you get inspired?

At work, we’re sometimes writing so much that we can hit a creative wall, or we can get to the point where we feel like we’re writing the same things over and over again. Personally, when that happens to me, I find inspiration by going onto the site and reading the descriptions the other writers on my team have authored. They’re such a highly talented group of women (yes, I’m the only male writer at ModCloth) that it’s hard not to feel invigorated by their compositions.

Which Star Wars character best describes you and why?

Han Solo has been a lifelong hero of mine, and so I’d like to answer with his name. But I think we often admire people who carry the characteristics that we only wish we could possess. I’d like to be more like a rogue-ish space pirate with a flashy ride and a devil-may-care attitude, but that personality falls nearer to the opposite side of the spectrum as mine. When I think hard about it, I’m probably a combination of Luke Skywalker and C-3PO – a callow young fellow from a small town who dreams of bigger things for himself and also finds it generally easier to follow protocol.

Tell me about your style – has it evolved? Is it still changing?

Oh gosh, it has definitely evolved. My friends Tiffany and Rachel, with all the photos they have between them, could probably put together a whole catalog of looks I’ve sported over the years, from glam to garage, from nautical to mod, and so on. But I feel like I’ve pretty much settled into my current style, which I’ve had going on for the past several years or so. If pressed to describe my look, I’d probably say that it’s what would happen if a cowboy hitched a ride with a biker and they bumped into a southern preacher on an Indian reservation.

Do you a favorite item in your closet?

This is a tough choice to make. I’m pretty fond of each of the nearly two dozen western shirts I own, but I think I’m going to go with my vintage, black leather jacket for its sheer versatility and dependability. It’s basically impossible to look bad in a well-fitted, black leather jacket. It goes just as well with jeans and a T-shirt as it does with a nice button-up shirt and slacks.

Not everyone knows that you are a musician as well. How did this start? Do you think song writing has affected the writing you do at ModCloth?

I never feel very comfortable calling myself a musician because I worry it would devalue the contributions made to the art form by people far more talented and dedicated than me. But I’ve been interested in music for as long as I can remember. I took cello lessons for the duration of third grade, then I switched to the alto saxophone in fourth and played it for several more years in school bands (and it still lives at my parents’ house). Music always came pretty easy to me – I’d make honors band with little-to-no practice outside of rehearsals in school. I also picked up some guitar chords from music class in middle school and was able to recall that information when I bought my first guitar at age 21. Pianos always somehow made sense to me, too, even though I never had any lessons until I took a beginners course for a semester in college. Eventually it just seemed to make sense to me to start writing songs and putting together bands!

I don’t really think my songwriting affects my writing at ModCloth. In fact, it’s probably the other way around. Being ‘forced’ to write on a daily basis really does wonders for getting your creative juices flowing.

Advice for other aspiring fashion writers?

I’m not sure I’m the best person to ask since I didn’t necessarily set out to acquire a job writing for fashion. But if you’re a writer applying for jobs in general, your best weapon is your cover letter. As a writer, you SHOULD be able write a good one, right? So, employers are going to be judging you from the start of your first sentence. Make sure the grammar, spelling, and sentence structures are impeccable, and make sure its a dazzling piece of work!

I know that I’m late on this, but I love the character of Vince Noir, played by Noel Felding, from the British comedy series The Mighty Boosh. I started watching Season 1 this weekend and am hooked because I want to see what he will wear next! Silver spandex, cowboy hats, furry boots, and the most perfect hair? My favorite scene so far is when Vince Noir paints a portrait of Bollo the gorilla dressed up as Julius Caesar, and then says that Bollo looks like a “naked, little squashed-up hairy boy.”

Low-fi living in a modern world?

A new Urban Outfitters contest asks you to send them three photographs that illustrate how you are living a low-fi lifestyle. Enter, and you could win a $300 UO gift card!

Recently I had the opportunity to watch a documentary called, “Beautiful Losers“. The films website says, “In the early 1990’s, a loose-knit group of like-minded outsiders found common ground at a little NYC storefront gallery. Rooted in the DIY (do-it-yourself) subcultures of skateboarding, surf, punk, hip hop, and graffiti, they made art that reflected the lifestyles they led.” It stars a selection of the leaders of this movement, artists like Shepard Fairey, Barry McGee, Margaret Kilgallen (whose colorful paintings I have seen on the streets of San Francisco’s Mission District), and others.

I am still trying to figure out how to live in snow and bitter chill. Basically, with the the “high” temperatures being in the 20s, I’m cold all the time. I thought that I could get away with protesting the snow and wearing heels all winter, but each time I set foot on the sidewalk, I feel like I have to really focus or else I’ll fall down! Fashionable ladies who live in the snow, please tell me your secrets! Kid Congo Powers tells us about his shopping habits and twenty-five pairs of shoes (including four pairs of slippers). here.

In memory of Rowland S. Howard’s recent death, here’s a song by the Birthday Party for you. It’s one that I can’t stop listening to on this grey, snowy Pittsburgh day“Shivers”.

Today I realized that it’s the end of a decade. When 2000 came, I was 18, with long blonde hair, and home for winter break. My parents had a huge Y2K party, and all of my high school friends and I sat for hours in their garage talking about our first few months of college and if the world would end at midnight.

In this short period of time I had my first kiss, found graphic design, drove a bus, created a zine, had my first fashion photo shoot, voted in my first election, graduated college, turned 21, drove with a packed car from Sacramento to Seattle, met and lost friends, got my first real job, lived by myself, started running, and traveled to London, Hawaii, and New York. In 2003, I embarked on a ten hour train ride to from New York City to Pittsburgh, PA, where I met Richard Wayne, learned how to use Photoshop, worked in San Francisco, learned some things the hard way, saw Morrissey three times, saw the Cure, dyed my hair black, started wearing high heels and red lipstick, got my first digital camera, started a website, learned about studio lighting, found a muse, and had my first art show. In this time my siblings grew up, I turned into a woman, became a photographer, unexpectedly found love, and moved across the country.

And these many moments, words, tastes, happiness, tears, and dreams are only what I remember. Now that we are starting a new decade, it’s time to make more memories.

Download Pulp’s, Disco 2000 here.

It’s a high of 25 degrees today in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! While I sit inside a warm office watching the snowflakes swirl and fall softly to the ground, I have some things to share with you, dear readers.

I couldn’t be more than pleased with the new black and white identity designed by my friend, the talented and darling, Miss Nubby Twiglet!

I came across the website of Austin-based freelance web designer and writer, Paige Maguire, called flux-rad.com, where she has some really great mixtapes available to download!

2009 was the year in which MadMen inspired me to start wearing pegnoirs to bed instead of pajamas, and in my searches for them, I came across this the pegnoir of my dreams.

Shae Acopian Detar always inspires me with her self portraits that she posts on her fashion blog, EverythingStyle.com. On Christmas Day, Richard Wayne’s mom gave me a fancy wireless remote, which means I have no excuse for not taking more photographs of my own face. Maybe this can be a goal for 2010?