Model Diaries: Kristin Cavallari

Sexy, smart, creative, a fashion icon and a true inspiration as a career woman and mom, Kristin Cavallari has somehow perfected the ultimate balancing act. Mother of three, the wife of Chicago Bear’s Quarterback, Jay Cutler, a successful entrepreneur with both a jewelry and shoe line, Kristin is the girl that instantly lights up the room with her grace, poise, infectious giggle and, somehow, completely relaxed persona.

On a quick getaway, we brought Kristin to the vibrant paradise of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where, with her natural glow and sun-kissed radiance, she took to the main stage for our cover photoshoot. This is where we witnessed first-hand her secrets to ‘balancing in heels’…and this is what we found out.

Photographed by Dorit Thies
Styled by Amy Lizabeth Astar
Hair by Scott Cunha
Makeup by Spencer Barnes
Location Puerto Vallarta

Q&A’S with Kristin Cavallari

Tell us about your latest book, Balancing in Heels.
My book Balancing in Heels is about every area of my life, so there’s a lot of fashion, beauty tips and tricks, a mom chapter and a wife chapter. Those two chapters are kind of like a mini memoir. It’s like a trip down memory lane so it was a ton of fun to write. I also have about 20 recipes in the book, since I love to cook.

What do you find to be the most challenging aspects of being a mom?
I think the hardest part of being a working mom is that I miss my kids a lot. I live in Chicago, but my work is always in New York or LA, so I always have to travel for my job. That usually means I’m gone for a couple of days at a time, but FaceTime helps a lot. I think the other hard part of being a mom is that, when you finally have kids, you realize how selfish you are. I think we are naturally selfish beings. When you have kids, that can kind of be a shock at first. I think just trying to make time for yourself is very hard. Especially now that I have 3, finding that time can be very difficult.

What’s the most rewarding part about having kids?
The most rewarding part about having kids is there’s just so much more love in your life. I finally feel like I have a real identity. I feel like I have a purpose here in life now. I’m a mom to these three amazing little babies and my whole world just kind of opened up.

How would you describe your personal style?
My personal style is effortless, minimalistic and chic.

Do you have a piece of clothing that you always run to in your closet?
A go-to piece of clothing to me is a romper, I think rompers are great because they’re sexy, they’re easy and all you need to do is grab a romper, a sexy pair of shoes, accessories, and you’re done.

What are you looking forward to most about summer?
Summer is an exciting time for me because my husband Jay is off the middle of June to the end of July. That’s the time when we hang out in our house in Nashville and can just be a family. We actually just do nothing, which is really nice. And then my husband goes to training camp at the end of July. He plays football, so that’s always kind of sad because I don’t have him for the next 5 months or so.

What’s your favorite trend for summer?
My favorite trend for summer is lace up shoes, specifically the lace up sandals. That’s because once I had kids, I started wearing a lot more flats because they’re practical. But when they lace up, they’re still really sexy and on trend so you feel great.

What sunglass trend are you wearing right now?
I just bought a pair by Illesteva and they are the mirrored sunglasses.

Tell us about your latest collection for your line Emerald Dove?
My jewelry line, Emerald Dove, just re-launched and everything is very simple. It’s all dainty and airy and stackable pieces that are all easy to match with everything you already have in your own closet.

How did you come up with the name Emerald Dove?
The name Emerald Dove is because I do it with my friend Chelsea and we both had babies born in May and the birthstone for May is an emerald. Because it’s the two of us and doves come in pairs, we thought it was cute.

Desert Island. Minus cell phone, keys and wallet, what 3 things would you bring?
My family, music – I need music in my life, and probably a hat because I wouldn’t want to get sunburned.

What’s your current handbag right now?
My current handbag is a black Chanel, it’s kind of a classic tote. I’ve had it for a few years, but I just rediscovered it.

What do you keep in there?
My wallet of course. I have a little Louis Vuitton makeup case and, in there, I have all kinds of stuff. I have a Tide to-go stick, double stick tape, chapstick, a tampon, headphones…. Pretty much anything you would ever need, I have in this little kit. And then I have a pair of sunglasses. I usually have some sort of a bar or some sort of a snack, and I think that’s it.

What’s been your latest splurge?
My latest splurge was at InterMix. We went on vacation about a week ago so I got a few things. I got this lightweight denim jumper, a Rag & Bone hat, all great stuff that I’ll probably wear forever.

What’s your makeup must-have?
It’s gotta be Armani, Lashes to Kill mascara. Hands down, best mascara I’ve ever used.

You have amazing skin, what’s your skincare regimen?
My beauty regimen is, of course, taking off your makeup at night. That makes a huge difference for me. Wash my face with any old cleanser, I constantly use different ones. I have the most amazing facialist, her name is Carrie Hayes and she’s in Nashville. She makes me these customized Koji pads. I don’t even know what is in them, but they totally changed my skin. And then I have peptide gel, vitamin c serum and then, of course, eye cream which I’m constantly changing. I’m still trying to find a good one.

How do you stay in shape?
I work out with a trainer 3-4 times a week and I just do weight training. I don’t do any cardio. For me, it’s just about building muscle and maintaining the little muscle that I have. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn.

We heard that you love to cook and that you’re thinking about a new cook book that you might have coming out. Can you tell us about that?
I love to cook! I cook almost every night for my family and, because I love it so much, I’m really hoping to do a cookbook. I eat really healthy too, so 90% of the stuff that I make would be healthy. I still do splurge every once in awhile because I feel like that’s how you maintain a healthy lifestyle. You have to give-in occasionally so you can get back on and you don’t feel deprived.

What are some of your “naughty” foods?
I’m Italian, so any pasta. Gnocchi is my favorite thing in the entire world. Ice cream and any carb or basically any sweet.

What has been your favorite look of this shoot here?
It’s been really hard to pick one favorite look from today. Honestly, this is hands down my favorite shoot I’ve ever done! I have to say, probably because I haven’t done it before, but the wet look. The hair that I have right now was really fun for me, just because it was new.

We are here in Puerto Vallarta Mexico. What do you like most about being here?
Puerto Vallarta is such a cool old town. Everyone here is so nice. There’s so much beauty here in the city and obviously the ocean is beautiful, but it’s more than that. It’s the people and where they live and everything else around us. And just the hospitality has been amazing!

You are going to be the next Modeliste covergirl. Why are you excited to be a part of Modeliste Magazine?
It’s such an honor to be a part of Modeliste and then to be on the cover is just so amazing. They concentrate on the beauty side of things which is really exciting.

What’s next for you?
Coming up, I’m excited to be home with my family for a couple weeks because things have been so crazy. But I do have my shoe line, so I have shoes that come out every 90 or so days; my fashion line, Kristin Cavallari by Chinese Laundry; and my jewelry line, Emerald Dove, that are out right now. And then, I’m hoping to work on a cookbook pretty soon.