Cheap cheap cheap and a little bit of labor.

A lot of you asked about how W made her skirt in yesterday's post. This is one of our favorite tricks. It takes a dress, a pair of scissors, and absolutely zero skill.

You are familiar with dresses of this sort, yes?  Elastic waist, looks like a shirt and skirt but is actually a dress...

{all can be found at Forever21.com}

Well, we have found that these sorts of dresses are very regularly on clearance. Especially at ROSS. Do you know what clearance at ROSS means? Dresses for like $4.99. HELLO. That's like the same price as three bottles of Diet Coke. That's like almost free.

Anyway, find yourself one of those dresses on clearance, cut the top off, and BAM... you have yourself a new skirt for cheap cheap cheap and a little bit of labor. 

So, here is one of my homemade-ish skirts below.

 {jacket: 6.99 ROSS, top: 3.99 ROSS, skirt-previously a dress: 8.99 ROSS,

 belt: 3.00 Kohls, tights: 1.50 TJ Maxx, Shoes: 16.99 ROSS} 

Now go make your own and show us what you come up with! We would love to see.
Happy cutting!

-S.

Brace yourself. It's another weather-woes post.

I'm sorry. I can't help it. It's just so snowy and it's going to be April this week!

You see, the problem is that we are still wearing boots, and puffy coats, and scarves, and really thick socks, and gloves around here. Want to know why? Well, it's because it's still freaking freezing, that's why. And it's supposed to snow here again today.

These are trying times to be a fashion blogger in Utah, I tell you. All I do is lay in bed and dream of wedge sandals, and cropped skinnies, and skirts without wool tights under them. However, I'm trying not to let the freezing weather hinder my spring-trends dreams. One of which is tribal prints, which I love. And since they incorporate lots of neutral colors with fun bright ones, they still work with some of my dreary winter stuff so I can be springy and wintery all at once. It's just one big hodgepodge of dressing for the wacko Utah seasons around here. Roll with it.

Needing a little spring to mix in with your winter leftover's until the sun finally decides to come and stay? Here are some super cute little tribal print treasures I found for $25 or under:

Shop: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

And here is my winter/spring/why-will-the-snow-not-stop-falling/I-am-so-sick-of-layers/where-is-the-sunshine outfit for today, with my little tribal print skirt I made out of a dress from the sale rack at Kohls:

Jacket: ROSS 7.99, Top: F21 12.99, Skirt: Kohls 4.99,

Leggings: ROSS 4.99, Boots: F21 21.99

Now, if you are reading this from somewhere in the Southern United States, or in a place that is currently warmer than 30 degrees, or anywhere where there are birds chirping and green grass and blue skies, I urge you, step away from the computer, get outside, take your shoes off and frolic.

 Do it for me. Your frozen friend.

OX/ W.

When the going gets tough, the tough get gorgeous...

...at least that is what Stacy London tells me, and I believe everything she says.

I might also take a little artistic license and make it say: when the going gets tough, the tough get thrifting, because seriously, that is what I do. You can never feel anything but happy when you go for a little retail-based pick-me-up and discover it in the form of a fab little $4 polka dot blouse like this:

Necklace: F21 8.99, Blouse: Thrifted $4, Jeans F21 9.99,
 Belt: Thrifted $1 Shoes: Thrifted $4

$4 people! You can't even get in and out of chick-fil-a for that much.

At least I can't, since I think I need waffle fries and a peppermint shake everytime I go there. Yes, I am a $6 diner at least.

Anyway, like I was saying, thrifting, gorgeousness, polka dots...

and speaking of polka dots, look at these sassy little polka dot rain boots on sale right now for $15 at Charlotte Russe!  

If you are like us you could use some freaking sassy little boots

like this because it is rain/snowing like a madman out there. I love them.

...and one more thing. Lot's of people have asked us our tips for thrifting because yes, it can be gross/scary, but it can also be super rewarding. So, if you wanna know our tips we did a guest post about it here a little while ago, and hopefully it will give you some thrift-spiration.

My, my, thriftspiration...that was clever.

Feel free to use it in a sentence today.

Have a great Tuesday!

-W.

Vintage to the max

So I got this awesome vintage skirt a couple weeks ago. It had the JC Penney price tag on it, circa 1975, and everything. Such a great find.

It had just been sitting in my closet until last weekend when I was feeling especially ambitious (Seriously, I built myself a dresser, reorganized my jewelry collection, got tons of homework done, baked the most amazing peach cobbler, and sewed everything in my 'alter' pile... what do you expect me to do while my husband is watching March Madness?).  Anyway, I pulled it out because I had yet to wear it and was bound and determined to style this baby.

So I took a couple inches off the length, belted it, added a girly blouse and wedges, and BAM... success. Don't you think?

 {skirt: 4.00 thrifted, shirt: 0.00 took from my mom's closet, belt: 8.99 TJ Maxx, wedges: 16.99 Target}

Also, just for your information and benefit, I was curiously Googling "Vintage Plaid Skirts" and these things are everywhere. So get your hands on one ASAP. You will not regret it.

...Now let's announce us a giveaway winner!

Congratulations Ariel! Email us at prettylifeanonymous@gmail.com with your address and we'll talk logistics.

Oh ya, and Happy Monday!


-S.

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Five Things Friday.

1. These little birdy alarm clocks. So darling, and they chirp to wake you up in the morning. I love it. I can't help myself.

2. Tina Fey in this month's InStyle:

She looks bangin, and the article is pretty much hilarious, and she talks about her new book which I am very excited about, and she has on those AMAZING shoes which brings me to #3:

3. Cobalt!! Whilst reading about Ms. Fey, InStyle also told me that cobalt is the new black and I am all about it because it is dang pretty.                                                              

Necklace: Old Navy

Bag: Embelle Boutique

Sandals: Ruche

Polish: F21

Skirt: ModCloth

4. This new music video by local artist Mindy Gledhill who is really terrific: 

I love her. I met her once and she was so great I would have married her. And she blogs here. And she really did chop her hair off and looks SO stunning. And there are a lot of great bloggers in the video. And I think you're gonna really like her.

5. I got accepted to the graduate program I was hoping for!! It has been a couple of days and I am still freaking. To celebrate, my husband took me out for a piece of caramel pecan silk supreme, and it made me think I should get accepted to things more often because it blew my mind:

That's all friends!

Hope you have a great weekend!

ox/W.

PS. Second to last day to enter!!

Retail Therapy.

So this week has been one of those...

One of those where everyday I have worked at least two hours longer than I am scheduled, where the snow/rain has ruined my hair so I have felt yucky, where I haven't had time to eat lunch (aside from the box of Samoas at my desk), where my husband doesn't want to eat what I am craving for dinner, where my car decides that all the "service" lights on the dashboard need to go on, where I have been wearing lots of black, black, and black.

What is a solution for such a week? There is only one that I know of. It's called Retail Therapy. Certainly you are familiar with the practice? Well, I partook in said therapy yesterday. I really should have gone straight home and studied or done homework, but instead I headed to the local ROSS, as well as the Cache Valley Mall (which usually holds no promise), and they were both very very very good to me. And I needed it. And I got killer deals, including two striped dresses (one long, one short), my first floral shirt, cargo skinnies I have been longing for, and a pretty pretty necklace. All for around $40.

Although I didn't buy it yesterday, below you can see a jacket I purchased on one of my previous Retail Therapy sessions.

{jacket: 15.00 Charlotte Russe, skirt: 12.99 TJ Maxx, belt: 2.50 Forever 21, shoes: 7.50 Payless}

And boy, do I feel better now. 

-S.

PS. Enter the giveaway! ASAP!

Show Your Stripes.

I like striped things. Fudge striped cookies. Neopolitan ice cream. French fries (ok, so they aren't striped exactly but if you lay them side by side what do you get? That's right, I'm a food textile genius).

I especially like striped clothes, like this dress, for instance:

Dress: ROSS $7.99, Belt: F21 $2.99, Cardi: Old Navy $12.99,

Necklace: Walmart $5, Leggings: ROSS $4.99, Shoes: Payless $8.99

It's like a big striped t-shirt, but it's a dress. If I were ever to meet the person who came up with these kinds of clothes I would kiss them. Hard. Probably just on the cheek since I'm a happily married lady, and everything. But I would surely make my feelings of adoration known.

And take a look at these striped lovelies you can get at F21 right now, all $19.80 and under. Heaven in a clothing item, I tell you.

Shop: 1, 2, 3, 4

Now, please feel free to list your favorite striped food/clothing item in the comments. Preferably food. Clothing if you must. GO!

-W

PS...ENTER!!

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Winter Blues

So here is what we woke up to this morning (picture taken from my phone):

Way cool, right? 

NOT!

I don't know why I keep getting shocked when it snows through May in Utah. I have lived here since I was 8, for crying out loud. But it gets me every time. I start to think maybe the seasons will actually follow the dates on the calendar (March 21st=Spring). I am dillusional, I guess.

Anyway, as a result of this weather, today I am wearing all black, hair slicked back, and rain boots. It's not really pretty. Sharing a photo of how I look today would defeat the purpose of this blog... the discussion of pretty things. 

So I am going to go ahead and share a photo from my stock pile that I keep for days just like today. Its springy, not like today. Its bright, not like today. But it is pretty, and it is cheap. Just like everyday. Enjoy.

 {top: 9.99 Ross, skirt: 9.99 MetroStyle, belt: 1.00 thrifted, shoes: 8.50 Ebay}

I will just continue dreaming about the time I will get to dress like this regularly. Winter, go away already.

Yours truly, 

-S.


PS. Don't forget to enter our orange giveaway!

Orange Things. And a GIVEAWAY.

"Orange" you glad it's Monday? No? Well, "orange" you glad that today's post is about the color orange so I can use this little play on words in an attempt to perk up this post since, let's face it, on Monday morning the creative juices aren't exactly flowing like a fountain around here? I definitely am.

It just so happens that I am an orange lover, so I will preface my remarks today with a word of warning: There is going to be a lot of orange. You will be hit over the head with it repeatedly, perhaps bludgeoned by it. But I assure you, your wardrobe will be better for it. Feeling up for it? Good. Let's get to it.

Some people may not share my affection for the color orange but I can't help myself. I swear every food that is orange is delicious; examples include, but are not limited to: pumpkin pie, sweet potato fries, candy corn, creamsicles, orange soda...{Do I really need to go on, or is anyone else just thinking about making a call to Marie Callendar's asap and placing a couple of pumpkin pie orders stat? Whose with me?? Anyone???}

And aside from my orange food adoration I think orange clothes are just plain yummy too, especially if you live in a place that is not Utah that actually feels like Spring. I'm sure you'll agree when you take a look at the great little orange things I found all under $20.

Shop: Necklace, Flat, Skirt, Earrings, Top

And here is the little orange ensemble I wore this weekend:  

Jeans: Old Navy $7.99, Top F21 $19.80, Cardigan: Old Navy $5.99,

Flower: DIY, Flats: $10.00 GoJane

And in honor of orange, and needing something to get through a Monday, and loving just plain pretty things, I present to you this fabulous bracelet giveaway from the Etsy shop ChicChoices, who makes the most darling bracelets that S and I drooled over for far too long this weekend.

Who doesn't need a little leather to spruce up your life? I know I do.

"Orange" you glad you came on by today so that you have a chance to win?

{Ok, I promise that is the last time. For reals.}

Here is a little taste of some of the treasures you can find in the shop.

All of which happen to be orange {I am nothing if not on theme}:

To enter to win one for yourself, you must be a follower of our blog

and leave us a comment that you do!

And for bonus entries:

-Follow us on Twitter

-Tweet about our giveaway

-Add our blog to your blogroll

-Post about our giveaway on your blog

-Visit ChicChoices shop and tell us which

bracelet you would love to win!

Make sure you comment here about what you do for extra entries. 

Giveaway will be open until Saturday, March 26th.

Good Luck!

-W.

Five Things Friday (Saturday Edition)

We didn't want to deprive anyone of our five favorite things this week, so here they are... just on a Saturday. 

1. This happening on American Idol. I think Haley is darling, but this was the funniest thing I had seen in a long time. Red lip stick + microphones = BAD NEWS! See video here (skip to 2:01 if you don't care to hear her sing).

2. Over-sized belted tunics. LOVE this look. So comfy. So pretty.

 {forever 21: 1, 2, 3}

3. These two. Please stay together. PLEASE.

4. Floral wedges. Well, floral everything, really. But these wedges get my heart racing.

{Forever 21, Lulu's, Shoes.com}

5. These cropped pants I got for only $9.95 at H&M. I wish I would have gotten every color. 

Have such a good weekend!


-S.

Blogger's Day of Silence.

We won't be posting tomorrow because we will be participating

in Blogger's Day of Silence to help raise money for Japan.

Click here to learn more and more importantly, click here to donate.

We have donated and so should you! Even the tiniest donations will help!

ox/ W & S

Green!

It is so wet and rainy here that an outfit picture just wasn't in the cards for today. I didn't want to be out in it. My socks were wet the second I stepped out of the house. These are the things that make me want to stay inside with my space heater and my poptarts.

So, instead of what I'm wearing on this St. Patricks day, I give you some little green things because this blog is certainly not getting pinched today:

1. Damask wallpaper in my kitchen 2. My mint nails 3. My little green flats

4. Yummy cupcake from lunch yesterday 5. My soaked green umbrella 6. My green bucket of nail polish

Isn't today the kind of day that you wish you were still in first grade? The teacher's forget all about math and reading and the whole day you just eat green treats until you are sick and play games about leprechauns? Me too. 

But we are adults around here and someone's gotta bring home the bacon. The good thing is that at least we can use that bacon to buy ourselves some pretty things, like these 3 little green treasures that are all pretty good deals:

Here $24


Here $4

Here $12

Take that 1st graders with your St. Patricks day parties!

I'll take a sassy pencil skirt over you and your

all-day-green-treat parties any day!

{Ok, maybe I wouldn't, but us grown ups gotta stay positive.}

happy st. patricks day!

-W.

Well hello there...

Here is what I am wearing today.

Want to know more about it?

Then head on over here, where we are spending some time today.

And let me just tell you, we LOVE Cierra and her blog The Yellow House. So much.

So make sure you take a look around while you are over there because she is amazing, and you will love her too.

-S.

Did You Know? S Edition.

This is S:

Summary: S is 23, she has been married for 1.5 years, she is a clean freak, a graduate student, a really good present giver and a lover of juicy reality TV.

Now for the good stuff. Did you know?:

1. S is a Food Network junkie. Heck, it doesn't even have to be Food Network, if there is a show about food on she will be watching it. Especially ones about cakes or cupcakes or cakes and cupcakes together. Which brings me to #2:

2. Perhaps as a result of her affections for TV shows involving treats, she is the baking queen. I especially enjoy her homemade oreos.

3. She is obsessed with cartoon movies. Her favs are Goofy Movie and Anastasia.

4. She is insanely musically talented and taught herself to play the piano when she was just a youngster.

5. She is the more stylish one. It's true. So much so that when she buys something new she knows she can't tell me where she got it from because there have been too many times that I have snuck out and bought the same thing. I can't help it. She finds cute stuff.

6. She is obsessed with having a plan. She always has a planner. And it is always packed with stuff.

7. She is smart. REAL smart. I really think she knows at least something about everything. And she is putting those smarts to good use working on a master's in instructional technology. You may address all questions about what the heck that means to her.

8. She LOVES dried mangoes.

9. She is magnetic. For real. People can't help but want to be by her when they meet her. When we walk through the student center together at lunch we can never get through it without stopping to talk to like 500 people along the way because everyone adores her. This is kind of anonying too, especially when my pizza is getting cold because we have to stop AGAIN.

10. She is my sanity. Seriously. Couldn't live without her. I'm not being dramatic here, its just the truth.

Anything else you want to know?

Now tell us more about YOU!

-W.

I'm Back!!!

So here I am. Back in Utah. Back from the bliss that is a cruise ship and Mexico. Back from 78 degree weather. Back at work/school. And its Monday. Not my happiest day. 

Just a few cruise highlights {you may skip if you are bitter}:

1. Lots of food. Too much food.
2. The convention of homosexual men on the ship (like more than 100). I have nothing against them, I swear. I just have never been exposed to anything of that kind. It was really really really entertaining. 
3. Almost getting bucked off a horse on the $90 horseback ride we took through the desert. Not quite the beach paradise ride we were told it would be.
4. Watching for whales on our balcony for hours. All I wanted was to see a whale. Finally I saw one's tail and it spouted water out of it's blow hole. AMAZE. ING.
5. And of course, sobbing my eyes out thinking I was going to die in a tsunami. My WORST nightmare. It didn't help that we watched a show the night before about the enormous tsunami that will someday take out Los Angeles when a portion of Hawaii's Big Island collapses into the ocean.  

Moving on...

I am feeling less than creative on this dreadful Monday. So I found some major inspiration for my outfit. Okay, not quite inspiration. Actually, I copied it. I straight up copied it. Check it.

The version from LOFT:

{image}

My version:

{shirt: Old Navy 8.49, skirt: ROSS 11.99, belt: TJ Maxx 8.99, shoes: Shiekh Shoes 21.50, necklace: gifted}

Not bad, huh? So cool that I had similar items.

Well, I missed you all while I was away, I really did. So, how about we announce our giveaway winner!

Congratulations Jess!  Email us at prettylifeanonymous@gmail.com with your address so we can get that to you ASAP.

XOXO
-S.

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Five Things Friday.

1. Gold Flats.

Love them. They go with everything! And sooo springy!

1. Target: $9.08 2. GoJane: $13.20  3. Lori's Shoes: $20.00

2. Getting emails from people I know in real life who discover this blog and then figure out it is us behind it. SO funny. And awesome, because the people in my life are so wonderfully supportive, and so are all of you lovely readers! We adore you.

3. Sara Bareilles. She is divine. She is fantastically talented. And her style is fab. Watch this video! The gingham, the blazer, the sequined skirt, the red lip. So perfect. And musically she is flawless. And this song is my fav on the new record. What else must I say to convince you??



4. S is on her way home!!!! And she is safe and sound after having a major tsunami scare on the ship in the middle of the ocean last night! SO happy she is ok. And that leads me to #5:

5. Make sure to go here to donate to the red cross to help the people in Japan. At times like these I could not be more thankful for my faith and the knowledge that God knows us and will never leave us alone.

What are your 5 things? What are your weekend plans?

We hope you have a great one!

Happy Weekend Friends!

-W.

PS. One more day until the giveaway closes!

Downpour.

Every time I take a picture of an outfit, I think to myself how grateful I am that we decided to do this whole "anonymous" thing so I don't have the pressure of having to look good except for from the neck down. 

Case in point: Today I got rained/snowed on like a banshee. My hair decided afterward that it preferred its drowned-rat state and never recovered. But still I was able to come right home, tell my husband it was picture time, and snap these pics like it ain't no thang. 

 {dress: ROSS 7.99, tights: TJ Maxx 5.99, Shoes: Ross 16.99}

This leads me to my next item of business: expressing my admiration for you un-anonymous bloggers. It's a hard job you have taken on, and you girls look dang good! I don't know how you do it day after day but I do know I like looking at you. So keep on being pretty and watch out for the rain.

Oh, and don't forget about the giveaway. -S.