As a photographer, I'd say I walk a fun line between understanding fashion and completely not understanding fashion. I can appreciate the beautiful, the artistic, even the eccentric, but there are still some garments and getups that leave me at a loss.

This February I found myself journeying into New York's biggest blizzard of the year (yes, we are only thirty days and some change into 2017, but still), to photograph fashion bloggers and attend presentations.

So while I thought myself a practical onlooker, I returned with a few takeaways I wish I had known all along.

1. Nice things are nice

Alright, Captain Obvious. But taking a jump into the opulence and sophistication of Kate Spade's NYFW presentation, I realized the value of design and walked out on cloud nine. Not that everything you own should be expensive, or designer, but nice things are nice and have the power to elevate your every day lifestyle. You have to treat yourself at some point, might as well be now.

2. Embrace the natural

In both senses of the word, Club Monaco gave life to embracing the natural. When I walked in, all I could think was where I could get my hands on their store's scent. Not a scent - just thousands of flowers brought inside giving off the most divine clean and sweet natural perfume. That, plus a table of romantic roses, anemones, ranunculus, convinced me to have loads of fresh flowers indoors at all times.

The models also donned natural waves, curls, and dewy makeup, inspiring me to skip the hour of blow-drying, straightening, and then curling and just jump straight to the natural waves (and maybe some beach spray) and call it a day.

3. Don't sweat the small stuff

While I was packing, and let's be honest, actual about a month leading up to fashion week, I was nervous my wardrobe wouldn't hold up to the fashionistas who live and breathe "this stuff " (bring it on, Meryl). Even up until I walked into Kate Spade I felt self-conscious that I wasn't in anything even close to Kate Spade. Turns out, no one cared what I wore, and people were there to appreciate the presentation, (that was also completely different than I expected - it blew my mind to put it lightly.)

4. Out of your comfort zone is the best place to be

How do I continue this without perpetuating this cliché? Until I actually boarded my flight I was sure I would find some way to not actually end up flying to New York by myself for three days to navigate the city and fashion week on my own. But I did. And it was fantastic, and I definitely wasn't alone. So that's another thing, even though I was envisioning this Miss Independent adventure, there are always people willing to join you.

5. Don't be so practical it gets in the way of enjoying life

I will scour sites for hours, filling up shopping carts, saving things to Pinterest boards, and will never pull the trigger because I fear things being "too trendy" or too expensive. I prepared for the snowy streets and wore my big Clark's boots and heavy coat. But window shopping and city galavanting inspired me to go for the impractical every once in a while. Not everything you own needs to last FOREVER and not everything you do needs to be 100% for a good reason. Buy that marble end table, splurge on the designer soap/lotion set for the guest bathroom - these are the little joys in life that make it all the more worth living.