Category: Fashion & Beauty

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.

Ever since I purchased these shoes by Nine West in caramel and black (pictured below), I’ve been slighly obsessed with the idea of two-toned, color blocked shoes. Nothing crazy. No cobalt blues or fuchsia with red. Come on, you know me and my neutrals. Despite my somewhat boring color palette, I’ve been finding more shoes that I love, love, love than my poor little wallet can afford.

Here are some of my favorites, including the Nine West pair that I own:

1. Nine West Stylin’ (no longer available)
2. L.A.M.B. Nomad Slingback Pump $179.95
3. Madden Girl Sybill Pump $39.95
4. BCBG Paris Iriniax Wedge Pump $79.95

What do you think? Would you rock a pair of color blocked shoes?

In addition to rocking bright red lipstick this past holiday season, I picked up a new hairstyle. I first curled my hair this way for the boyfriend’s family holiday party and I’ve rocked the look about a dozen times since. Sometimes my curls end up too tight, too spiraled, but other times I think it looks just amazing. Wavy, goodness.

My hair is incredibly thin and never holds well, so in the past I’ve found curling irons to be the enemy. I would spend hours trying to make curls that never looked right, only to have them fall out before I left my front door. But I finally got the hang of it with the help of a few online tutorials.

Check out the 3 tips to perfect waves that finally landed me the curls I was looking for:

1. Start by dividing your hair in 3 sections: underneath, middle, and crown. Pin down the top 2 sections and start with the section closest to your neck.
2. When curling sections, wrap your hair around the iron from root to end. Growing up I always thought it was best to slide the iron all the way to your ends and then roll it up towards your root. The opposite approach is best as it evenly distributes the heat to your hair.
3. USE FLEXIBLE HOLD HAIR SPRAY. I know, I know. Seems counter intuitive. I always thought: thin hair needs heavy duty hair spray. Instead, try flexible hair spray. Go ahead, use a lot of it! Let it dry and then you’ll have loose waves instead of stiff spirals. A flexible hold also means that you can run your hands through your hair and no longer need to walk around like you have a stiff neck all night.

I’ve mentioned before that my mostly neutral wardrobe consists of tan, beige, brown, white, cream, gray, black and then more tan. So I threw together what is pretty much my every day outfit. An oversized, cowl neck sweater, scarf, skinny jeans and Toms (or boots). All of course in neutral colors!

I’d wear this to work (since our office is extremely casual), shopping on Saturday, or for a coffee date with girlfriends. It’s perfect, it’s cozy, comfortable, and understated. What’s your go to outfit?