A few Sundays back before attending a matinee performance for the Los Angeles Ballet Company, My best friend Chelsea and I were having brunch, when Traci  asked to photograph Chelsea and I for her blog. Traci has a blog called “Bespoked Stanzas” were she merges her two loves of unique style and poetry together. Below is the article that accompanies the photo above. – THE WIFE

“I met these ladies a couple weekends ago. They were sitting outside of one of my favorite places to eat, Le Pain Quotidien. The aesthetic of Le Pain reminds me of these ladies in the sense that they are modern connoisseurs of fashion who still manage to incorporate old world charm into their outfits with their choice of classic pieces (Taryn with her classic nautical tee and vibrant red-orange lipstick and Chelsea with her timeless leather jacket). They both approach fashion with the less is more ideology- a mantra that many choose to ignore.

Chelsea is a publicist for Diesel and Taryn is a blogger herself as well as a lifestyle organizer (she was even featured in Elle!) Her blog is called Taryn Cox the Wife.”

www.Bespoked Stanzas.Com

Images From LIFE Magazine

How To Shine Shoes

I’m sure every WIFE wants to send their darling husband off to work in style. So what better time then now to learn how to shine your husband’s shoes. I’m sure He’ll be delighted the next time he goes to lace up a pair and is surprised by how they sparkle. There are a lot of opinions when it comes to the best way to shine a shoe and everyone has their own unique twist. The process below is a simple one that many military bases use. – THE WIFE.

Step 1: Find an old towel or newspaper to spread over the area you will be working on. Shoe polish has an uncanny ability to get smeared everywhere even when you’re being extremely careful…and it’s really hard to get out of carpet.

Step 2: Clean the dust and dirt off your boots with a horsehair shine brush or damp rag. If you must get your boots a little wet to clean them off, allow them time to dry before applying the polish.

Step 3: Cover the entire shoe with a generous amount of polish, using your shoe polish brush, Be sure to match the color of the polish to your shoe as closely as possible. Make sure you get down in the seams of the shoe and attempt to cover evenly with polish. Allow 15 minutes for the polish to dry.

Step 4: Brush the entire shoe vigorously using the horsehair shine brush. The point of this is to basically brush off all the excess polish, leaving only a small film on the outside of the shoe.

Step 5: Once you feel comfortable that the entire shoe has been covered and brushed it is time to buff to a gleaming shine with a clean cotton cloth, such as an old sweat sock or T-shirt. – The Art of Manliness

Building a Shoe Shine Kit:

The items you need:

• tin of wax polish
• horsehair shine brush
• shoe polish brush (applicator)
• shine cloth

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