Feature: Emily Brunotte of the Blog, Champagne in the Rain

Hi everyone!  Today I'm excited to introduce you to Emily of the blog, Champagne in the Rain!  I've been following along and getting to know Emily both through her blog and through Instagram for many months and I absolutely adore her.  Many of you may already know her but if not, she is one that you will definitely want to follow along with.  Emily's style is effortless, chic, and always put together.  She is a Step-mama to two super cute kiddos, has the most adorable pup named Henry, and is super smart too (Lawyer in fact...you go girl!)!  She is a natural beauty who "always tries to look on the bright side"!  Get to know more about Emily below!

Tell us a little bit more about yourself and your blog:

My name is Emily Brunette and I currently live in Columbus, Ohio with my husband Nick and my puppy Henry.  I've recently graduated law school!  My blog began August 2014 because it was something I had been thinking about doing for a little while, but had never had the time to begin.  My third and final year of law school proved to be much less work than the first two, so I figured now was the time to start and I just celebrated my 1 year blog anniversary.  Starting at a very young age, I would spend hours looking through my Mom's fashion magazines and Martha Stewart magazines.  This fascination with fashion, baking, wellness and crafting in general never subsided.  And so, I blog about these things and what interests me.

The name of my blog stemmed from something that happened at our wedding.  Our wedding day began very rainy and overcast and I remember someone telling me that regardless of the rain, we would have plenty of champagne to drink and I would have Nick.  And thankfully, the rain stopped and the sun came out just in time for the wedding.  For the life of me, I cannot remember who said it (the wedding day was such a blur), but it resonated with me and stuck.  To drive home that theme further, the morning after our wedding we received the sad news that our photographer's home had been broken into and all of her equipment, including the memory cards with our wedding photos, had  been stolen.  I was heartbroken, of course, but ever since then, my husband and I have adopted this outlook that when things get bad, we need to focus not the good and remind ourselves of what is truly important in life.  So a year later, on our anniversary, Nick has surprised me with a photographer and a photoshoot while we ate our year-old wedding cake and popped the champagne from our wedding.   It was raining that day too.  This was the week before I launched my blog and the name of my blog was forcing itself upon me.

Who or what has influenced your style most?

This is definitely something that has evolved over time. My mother certainly shaped the core of my fashion sense - that I should first and foremost be a lady. Through the years I'm sure friends had a huge impact on my style, however over the past few years, it has been bloggers who influence me the most. It seems more real to see what bloggers are wearing than to flip through a magazine and look at what the models are wearing.

What is your style motto?

Dress for yourself! Some girls dress to impress girls, I think most girls dress to impress other girls, (I sometimes find that I fall into the latter category, but I am trying to stop this habit). My style tends to change from time to time, (see the answer for the next question), and that’s perfectly ok!  Fashion is not a box.  You have to dress in a way that makes you happy and makes you feel confident and sexy!

What 1 word describes your style?

Chameleon

What is your favorite article of clothing?

That is a really difficult question. I think this is something that changes every so often - maybe seasonally?  Generally, my favorite article of clothing is a really good pair of jeans that fits perfectly. 

What would we find hiding in your closet?

A body.  Whoa whoa just kidding. Um, I clean out my closet pretty regularly. I am constantly hauling bags of clothes to my sisters house or to my friend’s homes to see if they would like anything before I donate the rest.  However there is one item that I have kept around for years and I really have no idea why.  I have kept this pair of white, wide-leg pants from Abercrombie and Fitch circa HIGH SCHOOL.  I have not worn them since high school.  If I really think about it, I think that maybe this is a look that will probably come back around at some point? But I donate tons of other clothing items that I think might come back around.  There is no reason for it. But thinking about this, now I kind of want to wear them.

What beauty product would we always find in your beauty bag?

The YSL touche éclat highlighter pen.  I am beyond obsessed.  I often wake up looking like I haven’t slept much (because I usually haven’t) and this pen makes me look refreshed and awake!  This stuff is magic I swear!

Tell us one thing we wouldn't know about you!

I lived in China!  Mandarin was my minor in college, so after I graduated I spent some time living in China, studying Chinese and teaching English at a primary school.  It was a phenomenal life experience and I learned a lot about myself in the process.  I haven’t made use of the language since I moved back to America, and I am sad to say that I have forgotten much of it.  Maybe that will be a project now that I've finished law school!! #Rosettastone 

What one piece of advice would you give someone thinking about starting their own blog?

Be committed.  If it is something that you really want to do, you need to make it a priority.  Not your top priority per se, but it needs to be up there.  This means, pick how often you want to post and stick with it. This means, take pride in what you post and spend some effort on it - enlist the help of a photog friend, take a photography course or get a good camera and fake it till you make it (I did the last one - I am no great photog by any stretch, but a good camera masks that a little). This also means get involved on social media - whichever social media that works best for you.  Follow other bloggers who inspire you and tell them why.  I have been so incredibly touched by how sweet, supportive, creative and kind the other bloggers are that I have formed relationships with either virtually or in real life, so keep that trend going and be uplifting and thankful!

Gummy bears or sour patch kids?

Gummy bears for sure.

If you had to estimate, how many pairs of shoes do you have?

Actually not too many.  I tend to get rid of shoes that I don't wear very often.  I'd have to say between 30-35 pairs.  If I had a second fashion motto it would have to be quality over quantity.

What 3 words would you use to describe your closet?

Organize, Neutral (in color scheme), and Versatile

A special thank you to Emily for being a part of today's feature and I hope you all enjoyed getting to know more about her...isn't she AMAZING?!  Follow along with Emily as well:

BLOG: Champagne in the Rain

INSTAGRAM: @emilybrunotte

PINTEREST: /emilybrunotte/

FACEBOOK: /champagneintherainblog

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