*I would like to preface this post by stating that I am not being paid to write this. This is completely genuine and my utmost personal opinion. A couple weeks ago, I was approached by a clothing company that I knew very little about. I had seen commercials and pop-ups for Gwynnie Bee, even gone so far as to click on their website, but I didn't really understand what it was. Regardless, they wanted me to shoot for them as a model and I was booked for the job. As soon as the b

After bar hopping around the city with my best friends, I found myself a bit peckish. Okay, I'm always hungry and I love nothing more than eating at restaurants. Plus, I'm a restaurant owner, so it's research, right?? Whatever. I don't have to make excuses. Hahaha So, I wanted to eat again and I was near a vegan place called, "P.S. Kitchen." It was the only place within walking distance that was still open, so Robert, James, and I decided to walk over and give it a shot. The

My adopted brother, James Delisco lives in New York City. He is an icon and probably one of the most talented people on the planet. Seriously. He is also currently in Kinky Boots on Broadway if you happen to be in the city. James used to be vegan, way before I was. Now, he isn't fully vegan but he does still eat mostly plant based. I am telling you this because he suggested that we have a late lunch at Blossoms du Jour and I completely trust his opinion! I was honestly expect

I flew into New York City this morning and felt that familiar clutch in my chest. This city has a hold on me, even when it's cold and rainy. It's like a long lost lover whom I try to forget but time and time again, I feel that pang in my heart and I know that it still has a hold on me. It's fashion week in NYC and that always holds a special place in my memories. I went straight from the airport to the Maree Pour Toi pop-up shop downtown! My uber tinkered down slick, brick st

Hey, y'all! It's fashion week and that means that I'm in NYC. This is my first long-stay trip to New York as a vegan and I am super excited to eat as much vegan food as possible! My first stop was "JaJaJa" (pronounced Ha-Ha-Ha), a vegan Mexican restaurant downtown. I happened to be two blocks away at a casting and when I searched nearby vegan options, it popped up. Everyone loves Mexican food and since the Nashville airport offered nothing vegan this morning, I was pretty st

Today marks my 4 year anniversary of owning a restaurant in Springfield, Tennessee. Holy Moly. I was only 26 years old when I decided that I was tired of modeling and wanted a change. My husband (fiance at the time) and I moved to a small town outside of Nashville (where my family had recently moved) and decided to open a farm-to-table fine-dining restaurant. We knew next to nothing about the town or the people, but he went to culinary school and is an incredible chef, I lov

I was able to catch up with the dazzling model, Katya Zharkova in South Beach. Katya moved to America because she saw me win America’s Next Top Model. It’s crazy because I think of my past work with reality tv as something to sweep under the rug, but then I remember the fan mail I received from mothers who's daughters were battling eating disorders, girls who wore a bathing suit to the beach for the first time because of me, and then there’s Katya, who left her country, moved

If you follow me on social media, than you probably already know that I am going out for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition this year. This decision is pretty random for me. Until Beyonce was on the cover, there were very few curvy women associated with the magazine. Following Beyonce, we had the Ashley Graham cover, and since then, Sports Illustrated completely shifted their usual type to include all shapes, sizes, and colors. My good friend from Russia, Katya Zharkova

It calls to me like a scorned lover. Every time I see it's silhouette, my heart stretches with a deep longing, and pangs with a sense of weakness. The city is a companion to the lonely, a lover to the loveless. It is oxygen and blood, grit and glue. It sticks to the marrow and seeps into the dark places where you hide from yourself. It knows your deepest desires, ones that you've hidden even from yourself. The city twists and tantalizes, constantly evolving to rise up and mee

I can almost hear the mosques singing the call to prayer now. To anyone who wasn't raised in a muslim country, the sound is at first disarming, as I'm sure church bells banging around is to people from those countries. In every movie about the Middle East, you hear this song. It is a passionate cry, ringing out from delicate minarets perched high above the city. It is frightening at first. You can almost feel soldier's boots drumming on the streets outside, but Istanbul is no

People always ask , "What's the best place you've traveled to?" and there are two that always come to mind. One is Istanbul, & the other is Cape Town, South Africa. Cape Town is breathtakingly beautiful. It is right on the southern tip of Africa, on the Atlantic Ocean, and if you take a short drive to the other side of that tip, you can also dip your toes in the Indian Ocean, surrounded by penguins (yes, real fucking penguins live on the beach here). The food is insane (I was

I have flown an exorbitant amount in my life and along the way I've picked up some pretty useful travel hacks. ​ Food Did you know that you can bring your own food from home on a plane? That's right! You can bring snacks through security (yes, you will have to send them through the scanner), on your flight, and even to your destination. You want to bring your boyfriend a slice of New York pizza? You go right ahead and do it. You want to take your girlfriends a box of Magnolia

Allow my idiocy to educate you so that you don't have to make the same mistakes I tried to research Cinque Terre. I went on trip advisor, lonely planet, etc. etc. and I had a lot of trouble finding any in depth explanation as to what this destination entailed. Okay, it's five cities that can not be reached by car, but no one explained that three of the cities can be reached by train. I knew that you had to walk from city to city, but no one said what skill leveled was require

I am scrolling through Facebook, as one does when they're avoiding doing actual work, and I come across this advertisement. My first thought as my eyes land on this emaciated girl is that it must be advertising some obscure Russian (no offense, Russia, but you do have very skinny models) swim line. My heart initially drops, feeling sorry for the girl pictured, probably just starting her modeling career, hoping to one day make it to the... holy shit! My eyes hit the logo. PINK

Genoa/Genova , both are acceptable pronunciations, but try not to say Genovia, which is the country from Princess Diaries. A mistake that I only made once... TWICE, okay? I'm going to be honest, I did not have any desire to go to Genoa. I knew that we would meet our friends (Michael & Geppe) in Paris and that the four of us would go somewhere from there, but this trip was made more because when I searched flights, it was cheap, than "it's a destination that I've always wanted