Ivana Jorgensen

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Finding Photo Inspiration in Ugly Places

Sean and I were heading out over the weekend to take some photos for the 'gram. Literally the moment we started up the car, the rain started pouring. Middle of summer, people. Las Vegas! I couldn't make this up if I wanted to. You'd think I'd be used to this sort of thing by now, because my entire life I've known that if the bad thing can happen, it most definitely will happen to me. And it always, always does.

My spirits were crushed, and I'm not afraid to admit that I did cry. (Because let's keep it really real, I cry over everything!)

Luckily for me, I have a cool, calm, and collected husband. He kept promising me we would find a spot, that if we kept driving in the other direction, we would beat the rain clouds before they even got there. So the only direction to go in was North, straight towards old downtown Vegas.

So now comes the point of this post - how to find inspiration and make something beautiful out of the ugly hand you're dealt. I had my hopes up to shoot at this awesome retro motel, Fun City. Nowadays, it's most widely known for its hot pink doors and staircases and vintage appeal.

Hot pink NOTHING!! Apparently the city decided to do away with the entire motel and it is currently undergoing a complete renovation.

As if it wasn't depressing enough about the rain being just miles away, my "perfect shot" was ruined.

CUE THE HOT PINK CAR ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE CONSTRUCTION ZONE!

I styled this cool summer look with some cargo joggers in olive (one of my favorite colors!), the comfiest Madewell cropped tee, and a pair of leather espadrilles. It's always a good day when I get to bust out my round rattan bag, so I made sure to link some similar options in different price ranges below!

So thank you, once again, to my awesome husband for spotting this gem. It totally made up for the rain and the non-existent motel. The whole experience just goes to show that sometimes, if you're willing to open your eyes and look past the obvious, you can find pieces of beauty all around you.

Once we ventured a few streets out on this super-questionable side of town, I started noticing spots that put the old hot pink motel doors to shame. And had those doors still been there, I'm sure I would have been satisfied with them. BUT I wouldn't have found all these other hidden gems, which if you ask me, totally blow those doors out of the water.

Here's to inspiration all around us.. just get out there, wipe the tears away, and find it!


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