Category: Fashion & Beauty

I can hardly believe that we won the Ski Salt Lake Dream Vacation contest, but we did. Early tomorrow morning I’ll be on a plane heading west, to spend five days and four nights at a mountainside condo just outside of Salt Lake City. The boyf and I invited one of our favorite couple friends to join us, so the four of us will be skiing by day, and dining by night.  All expenses paid. I know, it sounds too good to be true, but trust me. It’s true!

So I spent a good portion of this week trying to pack. Because we’re already going to be traveling pretty heavily with ski bags and boot bags in tow, the boyf and I decided to share one suitcase for our clothes. I am one of the worst over packers that you’ll ever encounter, so let’s just say that this week has been a bit challenging.

I’ll be sure to share updates on how the trip goes, but in the meantime, here are the looks I want to wear while visiting Salt Lake City and Park City.

I finally narrowed down my outfit options, and landed on a suitcase filled with neutral colored pieces that I can easily mix and match to go from day time casual wear to evening dinner wear. I’ve accepted the fact that I’ll be pictured wearing the same few sweaters the entire trip, and that I may not have a slew of back up choices if we change our plans and decide to go out an extra night.

The one piece that I’m most excited to wear during our vacation in Salt Lake City is my new faux fur vest. I snagged it for cheap at Loft and I think it will be the perfect piece to wear over and over again!

I have to admit. It was kind of hard for me to say those words. Nothing against people who shop at Payless. I am all for finding good deals, and paying less for things. I live out of cheap stores like Forever 21 and H&M, but when it comes to shoes. Well, I’ve always thought shoes deserve more. For the sake of comfort, on my feet, I’m almost always willing to spend a little more. So it’s fair to say I haven’t shopped at Payless in… years, and years, maybe longer.

Well I’ve had it! Jessica from What I Wore wears two pairs of heels from Payless over and over again. If you follow her blog, you’ve probably noticed that she wears the black and red pumps a lot, and she wears them well. And for a fashion blogger like her to wear a pair of shoes over and over again, means that they must be bearable on the feet.

Photos from What I Wore posted  here, here and here.

But it was really Kendi from Kendi Everyday that pushed me over the edge. She seems to be wearing similar, if not identical black pumps from, you guessed it: Payless.

Photos from Kendi Everyday posted here.

Of course as my luck would have it, I think I held off for too long, because I can’t seem to find these black heels on the Payless website. So, this afternoon: I’m going to pay a visit to the Payless store.

Has anyone else found a surprisingly chip and cheap pair of shoes from Payless? Send me links to pictures so I know I’m not alone!

I can’t be the only person that finds it hard to pick the right shoe to wear in the middle of the winter. Right? Here’s the situation:

It’s freezing cold, maybe snowing. Ground is wet, covered in slush, or even worse – three feet of snow. But life moves on, people!  I have to get to work each day, and go out at night. My feet get cold when I wear flats, my Toms get wet depending on the weather, my boat shoes don’t exactly scream “winter,” and while Uggs are super comfortable and somewhat practical, who really still wears Uggs? (Well, I do… on the weekend, or when I’m lounging in the evening. But not to work, or out on a Friday night).

My mom would probably say something that makes it seem all too easy. Buy a pair of snow boots, wear them on your commute. Bring a pair of flats to slip on when you get to work. Simple, no? No. It’s not that simple, mom. You try finding a pair of snow boots that don’t look more like moon shoes. (Side note: if you find a pair, let me know!)

So back to the problem, or better yet, the solution. Recently I’ve been turning to my light brown ankle boots. They look a whole lot like the Steve Madden pair below, except they’re a little bit more brown, and believe it or not – they were even less expensive. A coupon and a clearance helped me snag the pair back in the summer for some ridiculously low cost (I think $8).

And now, here we are two seasons later and they are still just as comfortable, and just as practical as ever. My favorite part about wearing these in the winter is that unlike flats, Toms or high heels, I can slip a pair of socks on and no one can even see. Extra warmth? Yes please.

I think I’ve decided that ankle boots might just be the perfect, four season shoe.

So in case you want to snag a pair (or three) of your own, here are my favorite styles. Three styles on the right are steals, coming in at under $200. The three on the left, well I’ll save those for my dreams. But maybe one of you lucky readers is in the mood to splurge.

Seasonless Booties: Steals and Splurges by whitneyprior featuring suede western boots

Random story that will somehow be related to this post: my cousin Susu from Los Angeles invented arm candy. Okay, obviously not, but ever since I was a little girl, my dad would tell stories about how you could hear Susu from a mile away. When she arrived at your door, she wouldn’t ring your doorbell, she’d give her forearm a shake, and her bangles and bracelets would jingle so loud that you’d know she had arrived. It’s been a running story for years, and it’s one of my favorite make shift memories that I have of her. So, in my mind – Susu started the arm candy trend, and the world has just finally caught up.

So without further ado. I share with you my love for some serious arm candy in the form of bangles, bracelets, cuffs and watches. Layered, stacked and piled on to delicate little wrists.

I love that the look can be pulled off in a zillion ways. Sometimes wrists go overboard, decked out like crazy, and I love it. Other times, the accessories are much more simple. An over-sized watch and a handful of simple bangles. I still love it. Whether your look includes every color of the rainbow, or you prefer a monochromatic arm (obviously I prefer all gold), arm candy is just freaking awesome.

Photos on Pinterest 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

So there you have it. My roundup of arm candy from Pinterest. Now it’s your turn. Go pile on the accessories and make your arm jingle your new signature hello.

Yesterday I mentioned how the sock bun has recently become my go to hair style when time is short (or hair is dirty). I also mentioned that although sock buns are easy, it’s not that easy the first time you try. It takes a few tries to get the hang of it – to find the right color and size sock, to get used to wrapping the hair around the sock, to figure out how to secure loose hairs.

But I think I’ve got the hang of it. Here are two pictures of my sock bun from last night.

What do you think? If you’ve been wearing sock buns, send me links! I want to see.

If you’re looking for some simple game changers in the world of hair care and style, I beg you to give this a read. Sock buns and dry shampoo. Let’s start with the latter.

Dry Shampoo: I know, I know. People have been raving about dry shampoo for years, but the raves and recommendations always seem to come from the celebrities or my LA friends. Never thought it was really a mainstream, easy to find, cheap to buy, easy to use thing.

Well, I was wrong. One day this week I woke up super late, with less than 20 minutes to shower, get ready, pack a lunch and get to work. My commute to work is super short, but not short enough to make miracles happen. So I hopped in the shower, and in a moment of idiocy said ‘hey, why not save 30 seconds and not wash your hair today?’. Bad idea. Stupid, stupid idea. My hair is very thin, very straight, and I wash it almost every day.

Fortunately for me, my work is on the same block as a CVS, and I spent the last two minutes of my train ride Googling dry shampoo at CVS to find which brands are offered at my local store. I picked up a bottle of Tresemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo for under $6 and it seriously saved the day. Not that I really need to care about looking pretty for my coworkers, but hey. It made me feel better, and now I’ve added this little trick to my repertoire of time saving ways.

Sock Buns: Now let’s talk about another time saving, dirty hair trick. This isn’t a new thing. If you’re on Pinterest you’ve already seen hundreds of photos of sock buns and dozens of DIY sock bun tutorial videos. But have you actually tried it? Yourself. At home. I put this off for weeks, even months, but recently gave it a go after my co-worker tried it and promised me that it really does only take 2 seconds. Okay, so maybe like 2 minutes. But for a flawless hairstyle that seems to stay put for a good whole day, 2 minutes is nothing.

I first tried it with my sister. Her hair is short, and was still somewhat damp, so when I first did her sock bun it seemed perfect. My hair on the other hand is long, and layered, so it proved a bit harder. But the second attempt came out much cleaner, less poofy-er (is that a word?) and now I’ve got a new go-to hair style that again, literally takes 2 minutes. Sure beats my 30+ minute curls!

And here are a few other (slightly more pro) photos of sock buns that I’ve been eying on Pinterest.

Photos on Pinterest here, here, here, here and here.

So those are my newest dirty hair and short on time tricks. What else have I been missing out on? Do tell…

I’m always slow to hop on board with new trends – like skinny jeans in general (I used to judge), and sea foam green nail polish (stayed away from it for months). But this year, I’m looking forward to being a little bit late on the whole candy colored skinny jean fad. With spring just two months ahead, I’ve been keeping my eye on how bloggers and fashion editors are wearing the dainty colors, the bright colors, the prints, pastels, and my favorite: the candy colored skinny jeans.

I typically like to splurge on my jeans, since they are without a doubt worth every penny spent considering I wear jeans every, single day. But for unique colors that I won’t wear too, too often, I want to save.

So I’ve rounded up 5 great colors, perfect for spring time, all under $30. They may not last you until next spring. But that’s fine by me. Click the small icons below for details to purchase.

Candy color jeans by whitneyprior featuring lightweight jeans

I love these colors for so many reasons, but mostly because my the rest of my wardrobe is boooring. One look in my closets and you’ll see neutrals, neutrals, neutrals. So I can’t wait to pair these skinny jeans with any number of my white, cream or tan tops.

What do you think?

Did you guys ever see this post from Mimi + Meg? Well, the time has come. My wardrobe is out of control, and not in a good way. I have clothes that I love, clothes that I hate, clothes with the tags still on, and clothes that I know are back there, somewhere.

I’ve been promising my mom that I would clean out my closets for the past 3 years, and sure enough, I always “forget.” Well now, in the midst of my quarter-life blog breakdown and big time work dilemma, I’m itching for a little cleanse. And I think a refreshed wardrobe will do the trick. A long walk on the beach helped me clear my head and reach a tough decision this week, a warm bowl of wild rice and kale soup warmed me up from the inside out, and now it’s time to get clearing and get cleaning.

I plan to literally take everything out of it’s place. Out of my drawers, off the shelves, out of the bins and out of the closets. If I’m feeling bold and decisive, I’ll separate items into Keep, Donate, Toss buckets, and mean it. I’m talking about donating that day, and throwing out… that day. Normally when I decide to “part” with an article of clothing, it sits in a bag in my car for a few months (just in case I want to reach for it in the near future).  Then the bags move two hours north to my parents house (just in case I ever decide I want anything back).

Not this time. I hope. This time, shits going bye bye.

Photo on web here

So this may or may not have accidentally happened. I swear, I didn’t intend to go shopping.

But the other day I was on my way to Newton to get a new dress altered. Well, while I was out in that direction I thought: What do you know? The Apple store is just a few minutes away, I could go check out those iPad cases I’ve been eying! So I bought an iPad cover from the Apple Store that just happens to be in a mall that just happens to have a BCBG store which just happened to be advertising a 60% off sale in the window.

I went in. Obviously.