Dazey Getawayz Nashville Edition

As part of our New Years Resolutions, my boyfriend Phillip and I decided we want to travel more. Especially trips we can dub "work trips!" Before I started Dazey I worked full time for larger companies and inconveniently always either quit or was fired just about the time where you get that weeks paid vacation. So I literally spent a good 3-4 years not traveling AT ALL. Guess you can say I’m making up for lost time this year! 

1. Urban Cowboy BNB - A Boutique Hotel Dreamscape

2. Pinewood Social - Nashville’s Ultimate Hang Spot

3. Date Night: Rolf and Daughter

4. Barista Parlor: Nashville’s Official Coffee Shop

5. Five Daughters Bakery: Donuts With a Twist

6. Lunch at Pharmacy - Big Ass Burgers (Veggie Included!)

7. Butcher and Bee - A Sweet & Savory Masterpiece 

8. Atta Boy - Curated Cocktails

9. Crema - Sweet Coffee and Clean Space

10. Gift Horse - Quirky Gifts with a Nashville Twist

11. Wheat & Co - For Ya Dazey Dudez

12. Two Sons - Shipping made Simple and Spectacular 

This store was recommended to us by a lot of you! It’s a giant space filled with only a few racks of very curated clothing from awesome designers like Ace & Jig. The whole store was expansive and white, but their rack was rainbow color coordinated, I loved that. 

Tour of Dani's Hometown of Lake Arrowhead CA

I was born in Los Angeles but spent most of my childhood growing up in the beautiful small town of Lake Arrowhead. It's a mountain community nestled in the San Bernardino Mountains, a few hours from LA and right next to Big Bear. It's known for it's quaint cottages, thick pine tree forests, and of course the gorgeous lake! One thing it's not particularly known for is it's culture. There are very few places to eat or drink, grab a coffee, or even shop. Even the tiny town of Joshua Tree has way more things to do and places to see as you may have noticed from our previous travel post. 

Though I consider myself a city gal these days, Lake Arrowhead is a gorgeous getaway to escape it all, take things slow, and visit my family. Looking back I'm so thankful for growing up there, but back then there wasn't a whole lot to do as a kid! It seemed like teenagers either got into partying or nerdy tech things, I fell into latter category haha. In a way I'm thankful because I ended up spending a lot of time on the computer learning coding and graphic design which later helped me in my career and as I was starting Dazey!

If you were watching my insta-story you know I was on a mission over the holidays to promote Lake Arrowhead and make it COOL haha. Being a beautiful destination just hours away for LA, it has all the right ingredients to become a hip vacation spot. And with house prices literally 1/4 the price of LA maybe even a great spot for those burnt out on the city to escape to. We just need a little more creative culture in the area! Luckily this is beginning to change. There are a few little spots popping up started by former Angelenos' looking to take a break from big city living. Below are a couple recommendations, along with photos descriptions, shown throughout the post. We also took some around town, in the forrest, and by the lake! 

Photo Op Alert - HWY 18

This highway is as gorgeous as it is treacherous. When it gets snowy it's sadly been known to claim many lives. So on the way up while all you flatlanders (that's what we called the non-mountain folks LOL) are driving slowly up the hill, be sure to safely pull over on one of the larger pull-offs for a photo. There's a ton of them on the way up, all equally amazing. Here are some snaps from where we stopped! Pro tip, if you stop more near the bottom you can get more hills in the backdrop before you're too high! 

Lake Life - How to trick the system

So Lake Arrowhead is technically a private lake reserved only for it's residents. But I'll let ya in on a little secret, it's hardly enforced. There are a ton of ALA entrances throughout the lake where you can walk right down from the road. I recommend heading down to the north bay for a more secluded and fun part of the lake. There's an entrance near the corner of Northbay road and Alpen drive. They are marked with little wooden posts that say "ALA" on the side. Now Lake Arrowhead is a big town for vacation homes, and around the lake most of them aren't occupied by full time residents, nor are there docks. Growing up we would walk down to the lake and just choose a dock and post up all day, rarely do people say anything. YES the dock shown in these photos were borrowed as well. ;)

Road Trip - @shoproadtrip

This adorable little shop with all sorts of goodies from vintage clothing, artwork, cards, patches, and more! Located in a cute A-frame, it has that mountain feel but still curated to an LA clientele looking for a special souvenir. Owned by a good boss and crafter herself, I discovered Savannah in an LA Times article (she's since ditched the dude and is a bad ass solo-lady-boss!) and I remember instantly reposting it saying something along the lines of, "OH MY GOSH SOMETHING COOL OPENED IN LAKE ARROWHEAD." Certainly in all caps. Not to trash talk the hometown, but it definitely needs more awesome spots like this. I got some vintage books for my dad and amazing holiday cards. Now time for you to take a road trip to Road Trip!

Lou Eddie's Pizza

Located in a quaint area of willow woods, right off the the main highway, this spot has only been around a few years but I make sure to stop by whenever I'm in town. Like I said, the foodie scene isn't quite like LA, but this is a solid spot with a great pie! There's also a tavern on the bottom and a forested outdoor seating area. The inside is super cute as well! 

Lake Arrowhead Village

Literally the only place we had to shop and go to growing up. It's our version of a downtown and a total tourist trap. But if you're in Arrowhead you are basically obligated to check it out. Though it's filled mostly with outlet stores (I do like the Pendleton one) or weird bear/fish shops, it is still a very cute area that does feel like an alpine village. It's also a great place to see the lake and feed ducks! Most of the stores around the lake will sell duck food for a buck, and the ducks do go pretty crazy. Franklin loved it! 

What's Edible in the Village - Belgian Waffle

Belgian waffle is THE JAM, literally they have great jam. But in all seriousness this is an amazing long time local spot! I've been coming here since I was a kid and am obsessed. They kill the savory-sweet breakfast game and the Brussels Belgian Waffle is heaven sent. They also have super reasonable drink prices, so naturally it's a great place for boozy brunch. The inside has all your mountain cottage vibes, or you can sit on their lakeside patio. 

Hearth & Sage - Top Town Crestline

When growing up Crestline was basically the ugly step sister of Lake Arrowhead, but man it's starting to come up! It's gotten some cute stores as well as a highly recommended (for the mountain) coffee shop called Higher Elevation. Per Savannah of Road Trip's recommendation we stopped by another previous LA (Angeles) resident become LA (Arrowhead) shop owner. Hearth & Sage looked like it was picked up right out of Silverlake and dropped down on the mountain. It's the perfect place to get that gift for the friend who already has everything, but still NEEDS all these cute things. We got Franklin a beautiful leather matching color and leash set he LOVES. It's true, he told me.

Random Patch of Forest

They're everywhere haha. We just pulled off of the road to snap these quick pics! But if you're up there you have to take advantage of all the beautiful hiking trails Lake Arrowhead has to offer. We didn't have time this trip but a really great one is Deep Creek Hot Springs! Just be careful of the nudists haha. 

Art's District Duo // New DL Shop Styles

We've been so busy adding items to the Dazey Lady Shop lately, a section of our site dedicated to selling goods made by fellow female entrepreneurs! Today's post includes more gorgeous goods you can shop and style along with Dazey tees. We have been focusing on sustainable fashion for this coming year. Really stylish female-owned slow fashion brands can be hard find, but we've made it our mission to source the best for our Dazey Lady shop. The two main designers featured below Tamga Designs & Father's Daughter Denim are perfectly examples of slow and ethical fashion. The designer Yana behind Dazey Lady brand Tamga has seen the damage of fast fashion first hand and had built her brand around that experience. Below is a piece she wrote on the importance of pushing the slow fashion movement and what she is doing. We are proud to carry such powerful brands in our store! 

After food and shelter, clothing may just be the most important product in our lives. But how much do we know about the clothes that we’re wearing every single day? I started my ethical fashion brand TAMGA Designs because this question is way too hard for most of us to answer. And when I moved to Bangladesh in 2014, I realized that what we don’t know is causing real harm.

Arriving in Dhaka, Bangladesh for the first time is a sensory overload. Heat, mosquitoes and a whole lot of attention from strangers awaits you as soon as you land. My partner Eric had landed a job with the UN and already been there for 6 months. It wasn’t long before I noticed the impact of the fashion manufacturing industry on this city. The rapid growth and construction, the thousands of young women in colorful traditional attire making their way to work in the factories, the stalls on the side of the road selling popular Western brands at impossibly low prices. The country had just gone through a painful experience when the Rana Plaza complex, a shoddily built building containing several garment factories, collapsed and took more than 1,100 lives with it.

Our demand for cheap clothing in the western world has created a highly efficient, industrialized and global fashion manufacturing machine. In Bangladesh alone more than 4 million people create our clothing for a living – and around 80 percent of them are women. These jobs have been an incredible force for poverty reduction in the country, but as Western brands push for lower prices and faster turnaround it’s the workers and their natural environments that suffer. Visiting factories around Dhaka I saw why the bright, trendy stores back home could sell fashion for such ‘bargain’ prices.

When my work had finished in Dhaka, I put together a small team and we spent a year setting up a responsible and transparent supply chain. We set out to produce bright and exciting clothing from the world’s most progressive fabrics and eco-friendly dyes. I had to go through this process to prove to myself that great clothing can be created responsibly from start to finish. We list every factory, every material and even the environmental impact of every garment on our website so that our customers can join the journey as well.

I started TAMGA Designs because I love the possibilities for self-expression, individuality and creativity in fashion. Rather than just feeling let-down by the dark realities of fast fashion, we choose to foster positivity, creating bright and beautiful clothing that does good for people and the planet. It’s not too late for the fashion industry to turn itself around, but we have to talk about issues like working conditions, pollution and waste. It’s my hope that, along with other inspirational brands in this space like Dazey LA, we can get this conversation going.

Written By: Yana Barankin, Co-Founder & Creative Director at TAMGA Designs

Below our own @danidazey models with the adorable Brit Kemp @britt.kemp! Recently as Dani was walking around downtown Brit recognized her from Dazey and they got to chatting. She had the coolest style and we obviously had to shoot her! She moved to LA earlier this year and works with awesome female owned brand Vrai & Oro as well as picking up occasional modeling gigs. We headed to the Art's District and did a little double-dazey shoot!

Photographer: @phillipbutler

Models: @brit.kemp & @danidazey

Brands: @dazey_la, @fathersdaughterla, @tamgadesigns

SHOP ALL YOU SEE HERE

Dani and Phillip - the couple in and behind the tees!

Merry Christmas everyone! I have so many things to be thankful for this Holiday Season and this past year. The launch of my second business Biz Babez, new friends, many travel adventures and a solid year with Dazey LA. But one of the biggest things I have to celebrate is my little Family! My boyfriend Phillip and our pup Franklin are the ones that keep me sane amidst all the craziness.

After 3 years of dating while being neighbors Phillip and I finally moved in together at the beginning of this year. We’ve been working hard to make our place feel personal yet tasteful while combining both our styles. It’s really come together and feel like a home. To top it all of a few months back we adopted our little guy Franklin. It’s crazy how quickly we became a crazy dog couple haha.

Phillip is the unsung hero here at Dazey! Anytime you see me in front of the camera, he’s the guy behind it. He only recently started shooting and picked it up right away! We recently began to travel a bit more to create content and as an excuse to get out of town. As Dazey began to get increasing busy he started helping me more and more. Around the same time he was on a hiatus from his current project and we released the “Dazey Dudez” collection. The timing couldn't be more perfect for him to help me grow the brand! This next year we are going to take a swing at working together and traveling for the brand and blog!

One of the bummers about either Phillip or I shooting our content is it’s damn near impossible to get some together. This past month one of the most well known couples photographers Phil Chester was in town and asked us to shoot. Of course we happily obliged! He brought over some champagne and we snapped photos all around our apartment, both wearing our Dazey. True to his name our doggo "Franklin the photo-bomber" had to sneak into a few frames! This shoot had such a cozy festive feel with the bubbles and warm tones I thought it would be an awesome X-mas post and time to reflect on this past year. Check out the gushy cuteness below, and beware some of them get a bit saucey!

High Desert Trip part 2

Escaping LA and going to a  Joshua Tree/Yucca Valley Airbnb is a serious “thing!" It’s always affordable and a great way to get off the grid. I grew up with my mom taking us here so it holds some precious memories. We had to make the most of our high desert trip by making a stop here on the way home from Palm Springs. Since a huge part of my brand is creating content, a gorgeous location is key! We got so many cool photos in Joshua Tree we figured this part of the trip deserved it’s very own post. 

Pionerertown & Pappy and Harriett's

You will feel like you traveled back in time when you visit the precious and photo friendly Pioneertown! Perfect for cool, quirky, western themed photoshoots. There’s a ton of little kitschy shops to check out while you’re there too! The crown jewel of the little town is the world famous Pappy and Harriet’s restaurant, bar, and music venue. My parents had been going there for years and I had always heard my fellow Angelenos rave about it. Phillip and I had to see what the fuss was about! We went for dinner and open mic night and had the most amazing experience. The food was to die for! I eat mainly a veggie based diet but had to make an exception for their house smoked ribs, and I did not regret it. We stayed around to watch the local talent and it was so cool to see! Pappy and Harriet’s is truly a place where all feel welcome and enjoy. The eclectic crowd included families, Hells Angels bikers, hip young folk giving LA scenesters a run for their money, old long-time locals, and cowboys. You name it, and they were there.

 Off to Joshua Tree! Next stop, The Coyote House

My friends Tim (@timmelideo) and Merrill (@merzydotes) recently bought an old fixer upper in Joshua Tree to renovate and rent out. They did everything themselves and it seriously looks AMAZING! They have dubbed this charming vintage inspired bungalow The Coyote House as it is located right off of Coyote Road. It was photo perfect and walking distance to some cool local spots. They also have a fire pit and hot tub in the yard, calling for nights out under the stars in a place where you can actually see them (darn LA light pollution!) Franklin loved running around in the dust and felt right at home!

"Downtown" Joshua Tree & the National Park

Ok another two-fer here since they are so close! Before you take that right down Park Drive there is a few block strips full of strange stores and restaurants. I was informed by a local that this area is technically all of Joshua Tree, which is often confused with the larger area of Yucca Valley up the road. I hear this area referred to as Downtown Joshua Tree and it is a serious treasure! They have adopted the often used phrase, “Keep Joshua Tree Weird” but unlike Portland or Austin, they seriously mean it! This is one wacky place filled with colorful and crazy art galleries, crochet museums (yes that’s correct),  funky vintage stores and more. There is also some good spots to eat and drink. Phillip and I loved Pie for the People & Joshua Tree Coffee co.

Of course Joshua Tree is known for the national park, there is nothing like it in the world. Giant rocks and Dr. Seuss style trees as far as the eye can see. The landscape looks like another planet entirely.  It’s great for hiking and of course incredible photoshoots! You can’t go to J-tree without hitting up the park.

 The Beginning and The End

Right as you get to or leave Yucca Valley there is an awesome little block full of boutiques that rival those of East LA. One of the most well known of these shops is The End, a colorful store full of vintage and carefully curated artist goods. Celebrities and blogger babes go nuts for this spot, not only for what’s inside but the amazing murals by LA artist @bunnieluvrocks paints all over the exterior. Grabbing a beverage and breakfast toast at Frontier coffee and stopping by The End is a must before leaving town!

Weekend Getaway in Palm Springs

I'm a California girl through and through. My mom was born in Palm Springs and that whole side of my family still lives there. I grew up in Lake Arrowhead, but spent countless weekends in Palm Springs and really grew to love it. I make it a point to escape the city and make trips out to the desert as much as I can. My boyfriend, Phillip, our doggie Franklin, and I are trying to start traveling more often and document our getaways as a little family. Palm Springs is the perfect spot since it is so close to LA and has so much to offer. We went out there for Thanksgiving and since my birthday was the following Saturday so we figured we may as well make a trip of it! Here’s a little low down on our weekend adventures and some of our favorite spots, complete with fun photos and all our travel tips.

#thatpinkdoor

You may have seen this infamous spot before. The aptly name ‘millenial pink’ door has made its rounds on social media officially being dubbed #thatpinkdoor. I knew it was a bit overplayed, but how could I resist? Had to stop by for a photo after some thrift shopping! You can find this Insta famous photo spot at 1345 N Palm Canyon Drive; Palm Springs, California.

Antique & Vintage Shopping

There is a whole gang of amazing antique malls in this area, starting with Sunny Dunes. I’m a sucker for some good vintage furniture or apparel, and Palm Springs is the perfect place for it! It was an area booming during the mid century modern craze so there is plenty to go around as opposed to the picked-over places in LA.  I find a lot of inspiration for my designs when I wander about stores like this, whether it’s a vintage poster or some cool old album artwork. You can explore these places for hours and never run out of new treasures to find! Don’t miss this spot when you’re in town.

Arrive Hotel

We have Arrived! Yes, the puns never end with this beautiful boutique hotel. New to the neighborhood and giving the Ace a run for it’s money as the most hip hangout spot. It’s modern and minimal, yet cozy and cool. One of our favorite parts about the hotel is you never have to leave! Arrive has two restaurants, a cute coffee shop, an ice cream parlor, and a seriously stylish gift shop. It has two floors of bungalow style rooms complete with patios, all surrounding the gorgeous pool. They are super puppy friendly which was great for Franklin! We even got to hang in the pool while he watched us from a lounge chair all bundled up! Another awesome thing about Arrive is how they want to bring value to the community by hosting pop up events featuring local vendors, and also keep their pool open to the public!

Ernest Coffee & Bootlegger Tiki

Coffee and cocktails?! Count me in! Just a hop, skip, and jump away from Arrive we have one of the coolest hidden gems. Ernest is a delicious and adorable coffee shop by day, and by night the secret back doors open up to reveal a speakeasy-style tiki bar! I’m a huge lover of coffee and the tiki culture design of the 50s & 60s, so this place was a dream. Palm Springs was a hub of tiki design and much of my summer collection was inspired by the amazing art and architecture I had seen while visiting Palm Springs!

Brunch Bound at Farm

Saturday was my birthday so we figured we would finally leave the hotel, haha. What better way to spend it than at a birthday brunch with friends?  We needed a spot where we could bring the pup, but also relax and have some drinks in a nice environment. Farm Palm Springs was perfect! It’s hidden away in a courtyard between some shops. It’s mostly outdoors and really makes you feel like you’re in a secret garden. It’s the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of the main street. The food and drinks we’re amazing. I especially loved the watermelon mimosas!

Downtown Daze

As many of you know I recently started my second business, Biz Babez. An all-female co-working and creative space in Downtown LA. It's been so fun exploring what's good in the neighborhood and finding the best shoot spots! The rooftop of our building is a DREAM to shoot on so I enlisted my boyfriend, Phillip, to help me get some Dani Dazey looks on it as well as around town. 

I'm so excited to share my Dazey Everyday looks for Fall as it's my favorite season for fashion and the new collection is perfect for it. Check out some of the different looks you can create in our dreamy new tees! I styled with a ton of pieces from the Dazey Lady Shop, we carry a lot more than graphic tees ;)  



#dreamertodoer stories

Today a few exciting things happened in the world of Dazey! We just launched a new contest called the #dreamertodoer challenge. Dani was also featured on her first podcast! Let's chat all about it :)

The Challenge

As you know our new collection is all about going from a dreamer to a doer. Taking a leap of faith to pursue your dreams. We want to hear your story and give some free tees away in the process! To enter post a photo of yourself and tell us the steps you took or are taking to make your dreams a reality! Then hashtag #dreamertodoer and add @dazey_la in the caption. Not only do you get to share your super cool story to the community but you are also in the running to win a free tee every month left in 2017!

The Podcast:

Recently I was asked to go on The Laptop Lifestyle podcast hosted by Alexis Teichmiller. I'm a huge podcast junkie and have always wanted to be on one so I jumped on the opportunity! I was super anxious before, but Alexis was an awesome interviewer and asked some great questions. I talk all about my journey before Dazey and the process I had to go through to get where I'm at. I thought this would go along perfectly with the #dreamertodoer challenge. I seriously share ALL in this including times I've been fired or found amazing jobs through Craigslist! You can listen to the podcast below. I've also included some photos from the past few days hanging out in the new Biz Babez office and shooting some of the new collection :)

Show Highlights:

-Sometimes “dream jobs” aren’t actually the job you’ve been dreaming of.
-It’s easy to get bored when you don’t feel challenged.
-When your creativity is suppressed and micromanaged, it creates the urgency to want to start your own business.
-Creating boundaries in your creative process can help you stay focused and be clear on what you want to create.
-Think of what would you want to see as a struggling creator. That’s the kind of content you build to help serve your community.
-Empowerment begins from within. You must first love yourself before you can truly love the world around you.
-You don’t have to base your worth on what everyone else thinks. You can be proud of who you are and what you do, without the approval of others.

"I didn’t even know graphic design was a career option. My degree is in fashion design. I ended up getting an internship for an apparel graphics company and it was like something clicked, a union of my two favorite things, fashion and art." - Dani on The Laptop Lifestyle

"For so long so my creativity was being suppressed and micromanaged. Some people have trouble with creative freedom. But for me it was so pent up. I was ready to explode creative freedom everywhere!"- Dani on The Laptop Lifestyle

"Being able to connect with my customers has become everything to me. I like to keep my business interactive. I don’t want it to be one-sided where I’m just talking at people. I want to ask questions, I want to start conversations, I want them to feel like they are apart of my brand." - Dani on the Laptop Lifestyle

"Instead of trying to shove your product into peoples faces you should tell a story. Being open and including people is a marketing tactic, you can be authentic about it yes, but it is a way of marketing." -Dani on the Laptop Lifestyle

Even though it is technically Fall season now, LA hasn't given us the sweater weather feels just yet. It is still totally within reason to be running around town in tanks and pool hunting on the weekends. Endless Summer is a thing! Driving around Hollywood I discovered some hidden gems that were the perfect spot for a tropical Dazey shoot and had to stop and snap some pics, per usual! Check out the new paradise in the city pics below! 

Last month I met up with amazing photographer, Bob Sala, and got some photos lounging around my apartment in Dazey. I show bits and pieces of my place on the Instagram story but after getting a few requests I decided to do a mini home tour here on the Zine!

I love all things visual and wish I could do it all. I always like to say in another life I would have been an interior designer. Then a friend (@officicallyquigley) called me out one day and said, why not this life? Somehow this silly comment was a revelation! I may not design interiors everyday but it can still be something I incorporate and practice in my life. And where's a better place to start than my home?! I have meticulously been picking out furniture, decor, and art for the past year getting everything ready. Of course I'm still not finished, I'll never be finished!  

This Friday my business partner Taryn and I are moving into the female co-working space we are starting named Biz Babez. A space for inspiration, collaboration, and community. Now BOOM my second gig as an interior designer has materialized and I am so excited. I love the clean lines of mid-century design mixed with the bright colors and patterned textiles giving it that soft bohemian vibe. This is the look I strive for in my home and plan to achieve at Biz Babez. It's a bit of a daunting task to have 3,000 square feet to decorate. Luckily I've done all my internet sleuthing and found some awesome companies who support our mission to help female entrepreneurs and are going to work with us on decorating! Many of these companies I already had in my apartment and I'm excited to share their info below. I urge you to do your interior shopping with these small business who care :)

Biz Babez Partners & found in my appartment:

1) New Made LA - Plant stands, planters, unique accessories

2) DK Renewal - Pillows and textiles, boss babe duo

3) Amsterdam Modern - Gorgeous mid century furniture 

4) Hannoun rugs - LA based vintage moroccan rug company

5) Ponderosa Cactus - LA based cactus company & sister duo

6) The Little Avocado - LA based fiber artist 

7) The Shift Creative - Installation artist 

8) Laura made it - Mixed media artist 

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