Five Things Friday {Stress Relief Edition}

Guys, S is a little ball of stress. She's got the ulcer, the job worries, the master's thesis deadline looming, and the girl needs relief. Maybe you do too. Summer may be one of the most heavenly times of the year but it can also be stressful and sooooo busy. 

So today, my 5 things are what I like to do to relieve stress. Are you onboard? Do you feel your cares and worries melting away already? Good. Breathe in, breathe out, and let's begin:

1. Do a cheap facial.

I have a huge stock pile of these drugstore standby Montagne Jeunesse masks in my bathroom. You can find them nearly everywhere for around $2 each and they smell great, are lovely and thick, and make you feel so much better somehow. I love them. Also, while you are at the drugstore, pick up some chocolate. That is not an official item on the 5 things list because I think it just goes without saying. Are you stressed? Well, eat some chocolate then. Common sense.


2. Comfort food. My favorite? Homemade baked Mac and Cheese:

Now listen, if you are stressed the last thing you want is a complicated recipe to follow with a bunch of snooty cheeses like gruyere. You don't need them. You need my recipe. SOOO simple and good and no snootiness involved. Here is what you need:


1 (8-ounce) package elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
3 tablespoons butter
1 pkg Kraft singles (16 ct.)
1.5 c. milk
something crunchy to put on top (chips, cornflakes, breadcrumbs, etc.)


Brace yourself, things are about to get tricky. Cook the macaroni until it is still a little firm, then pour half of it in a 9x13 pan. Layer with 8 slices of cheese. Cut up 1.5 tbs of the butter and scatter over top. Pour remaining macaroni on top. Layer with remaining 8 slices of cheese and cut up butter. Cover with bread crumbs (I also sometimes put more shredded cheese on top if I have it). Pour milk into corners of the banking dish. Bake at 350 until reeeaallly gooey (about 20 mins). And BAM. Stress? What stress. YUUUUMMMM. If you could eat a hug it would taste like this recipe.


3. Laugh! And lately I have been doing it at this guy's expense. Yes, it's sad, but I am laughing so hard by the end that I forget to care. Plus, rumor has it that he is making BANK off his nervousness. So laugh people! He probably is in a big pile of money:






4. Watch a great movie. My favs to forget about the real world? Here are a couple: 

5. Close your eyes and listen to this:





Siggghhhh....




See S? There's nothing you can't handle! 
Happy stress-free weekend to all you lovelies!


oxox/W

Thrifty Fashion for your Walls...

My husband and I currently rent a little farm-style home near where we go to school and we love it. What we don't love are all the white white white walls that abound in a rental. Because of the blinding whiteness I am always looking for affordable removable/reversible decorating ideas to bring some color and texture to my house, and in one of my google-quests for said ideas I came across this method of wallpapering your house with fabric and cornstarch. The supplies were so affordable that I figured I didn't have much to lose so a little while ago I tried it out.


Here is what you need:

-Lightweight fabric
-Liquid Starch
-Sponge or Paint Roller
-Container to pour starch into
-Not pictured: Patient husband who allows you to follow through on your harebrained decorating schemes

Just measure your fabric to match the wall, cut it, pour your starch into your bucket, dip your sponge in it, then start wiping the walls with it.

Smooth the fabric against the starch coated wall, brushing and smoothing it to get out any bumps, then wet your sponge again and go over the top of the fabric with the starch. Mine stuck immediately to the wall, but if yours doesn't, you can tack or tape the fabric so it will stay in place until it is dry. Then just wait for it to dry.

To remove, all you have to do is soak the fabric with water and it will peel off.

Before: 

After: 

Before & After:

I love it, it wasn't hard, it is easy to clean, and there is a little less white in my house. Also, I had some extra fabric that I may or may not have made a skirt with, and when I wear it my kitchen and I match like Mary Kate and Ashley circa 1997. Win win, I tell ya. 


Have any of you renters out there tried anything creative to combat the whiteness? We'd love to hear about your projects!


oxoxo/W

Confessions.

I am so so so sorry to leave you guys hanging yesterday when we promised we would be back. But get this: I got an ulcer. And I was in major pain. So I refrained from posting for that purpose. But now here I am, medicated and feeling happy.

Now, there are some things I need to get off my chest. Confessions, if you will. I just want to be honest with you guys is all. Ready?

• I color my hair from a box. Which I think I have heard is more acceptable for dark hair. The only problem is that I have blonde hair. But listen, it's been over two years since I had a hair-dresser I liked enough to pay $90 every other month. So, instead I pay $6.50, and that works for me. 

• I love dogs. My parents got a new dog this weekend while we were there visiting, and I am in love with him. He is a basset hound that they adopted from this amazing organization. You can count on me getting one the second I move to a pet-friendly home. 

• I have a breakdown weekly. Usually on Sunday nights when I can feel the weekend ending. Lately I have been having about three breakdowns per week. I guess that's normal when you get to the final two weeks of a masters program (pray for me... I am DYING).

• If I could, I would eat cereal only. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I love it. I feel happy when I eat it. Especially the granola variety. 

• Sometimes I edit my pictures to make me look tanner than I really am. Thank you Photoshop. However, I didn't do that in these pictures that I took on Sunday in my new dress. I found this baby with the original tags on and everything at the thrift store. Such a steal. 

{dress: DI $6, belt: Kohl's free (came with shirt), shoes: Ross $16.99}

I hope you will still love me, despite my issues I confessed to you today. And if you have anything to confess, go ahead and share. I will still love you. Have a great Wednesday!

-S.

Five Things Friday.

1. This knockoff of Kate Middleton's blue Zara dress on ebay for $19.99:

I love EVERYTHING that girl puts on her body since she has figured out this way to look classy and covered up while still looking super stylish. And since Zara is not available to us in the U.S. online yet {whhhyyyy????}, I am all about the knock-offs. I want one to wear with a little blazer over it, just liker her. And  a pair of espadrille wedges, just like her. Then I will walk around and pretend I am a princess. Just a normal Friday night, I say.

2. This THREE ingredient cobbler:

S actually introduced me to this. It is literally 3 ingredients, so fast and easy, and soooo delicious. You can use any combo of fresh, frozen, or canned fruit, and any cake mix. Also, you will need ice cream. So I guess it is 4 ingredients, hope that doesn't deter you. YUUUUMMMM.

3. Island Park, Idaho, where I am headed tomorrow.

It is the loveliest little town outside of Yellowstone where I will be camping for a couple of days. I am excited! However, there aren't showers out in nature {wish the animals would get on that}, which brings me to #4:

4. DRY. SHAMPOO.

I cannot live without it, camping or otherwise. I usually use Tresemme because it is so affordable, but I know there are a lot of great brands of it out there. Either way, get some. Then send me a present for introducing you, a good one. I will deserve it.

5. Twitch and Sasha on SYTYCD this week. So good. It's gonna get you a little hot and bothered, I just know it.



Oooooh baby.


Well, have a fabulous weekend, won't you? Unfortunately, we won't be back until Tuesday because it is a holiday in Utah and we will be out of town, but I'm sure it will go fast, as three day weekends often do. Hope you don't mind!

See you Tuesday!!
ooxx/W.

What do you think about Thrifted Thursday?

I know there has been a lot of thrift talk lately here at the PLA (that's how my husband refers to the Pretty Life Anonymous, cute huh?), but thrifting is truly our one true love around here, and I really can't resist the opportunity to create an alliteration from "thrifted" and "Thursday" and have Thrifted Thursday today. Fun with grammar and thriftiness? That's blogger gold, I tell ya.

On our shopping trip last week, the same one where W got her Coach wedges for $7, I had three seriously good finds, the first of which I will show you right now: 

 (dress: Thrifted 7.00, Belt: TJ Maxx 12.99, wedges: Target 14.99) 

Adorable, right? And get this: the dress is so comfy (I could probably wear it as jammies... it's that comfortable), it doesn't wrinkle, and it is originally from Tulle which has some seriously amazing clothes.  And I love it so much.

Moving on to even MORE fun: The lucky winner of the fabulous Mikarose dress giveaway is.......

Congratulations Christy! Email us at prettylifeanonymous@gmail.com and we will get your dress to you real soon. Thanks to all of you for making it such a great giveaway!

Yours truly,
S.

PS. Interested in giving away one of your products or sponsoring PLA? Contact us here. 

Wednesday.

Well hello Wednesday, my archenemy. We meet again. 

You know, you are probably one of my least favorite days with your exhaustive middleness. You're not really the beginning of the week anymore, but not the end, you're just nestled in this place where I am always tired and feel like it should be the weekend but it's not because you are there with your big fat Wednesday-ness getting in the way. You are like the flat soda of weekdays. However, today I am combating you with a cute dress. And a doughnut for breakfast. These things make you seem like not even a big deal. 

A few months ago I saw a dress like the one I have on today on the fabulous Mrs. Quirk over here and loooooved it. Her ModCloth version with tights and boots was just about the sassiest thing ever: 

And although I'm not wearing a pair of fabulous boots on this hot day, I did find a dress similar to hers at ROSS for a mere 9.99!! Even a boring old Wednesday can't take the joy that brought me away. Not to mention that while we were taking these very outfit pics I got to meet a FABULOUS reader, Heather, who is adorable and awesome, as all you readers are. So fun. Nope Wednesday, you don't stand a chance around these parts. 

Dress: ROSS 9.99, Belt: Kohls 4.99, Leggings: ROSS 4.99, 
Flats: Payless 11.99, Earrings: Gift

Have a happy Wednesday and I mean it!
oxox/W. 


PS. Today is the LAST day to enter to win, and your chance are GOOD! Get on it!

{wiww}

A little life and style.

Remember when we decided we were going to make this blog a mix of fashion and lifestyle? Well, since then, there has mostly just been fashion. So here comes some life. And style. Ready?

Yesterday I had the day off and spent it with my cute mom. She wanted to update her living room, so we painted a wall (thanks cousin KG for the help on the paint color... it was perfect). She also had a wall that was a little bare on the decoration side, so we decided to get creative on a budget. Because that's how we do things in our family. We headed to the thrift store, where we found this weird metal shelf thing and this framed picture for a total of $7.98:

We took apart the frame, threw away the picture (so sad, I know), and separated the frame and the glass.

Then we busted out the spray paint, of course, and painted the shelf and the frame.

Next we glued the glass back into the frame.

We attached the framed glass to the shelf and turned it all into a cute little glass-top side table.

I am majorly proud of this project. It was my brain child, and honestly I think it was kind of brilliant. So please validate me. It would do me good. 

Yours truly, 

-S. 

PS-Don't forget about the giveaway that ends tomorrow!

{linked}

Hi there.

I didn't actually wear this today. I wore it a couple of days ago, but I hope you don't mind.

Today I am dressed a little more conservatively than usual because I will be at a funeral, the circumstances of which I am quite heartsick over. However, I still find I want to blog because it seems to be a momentary escape from all the messy stuff in real life, ya know? What I will say about the whole thing is that it has been a great reminder to treat everyone with all the kindness we can, and to let the people we love know that they matter. Am I making you feel weird yet? Good. I know you wanted a good moral scolding this morning.

Now, do you want to see my new thrifted Coach wedges or what? I thought so. And when you can barely buy a scarf from Coach for under $70, I was beyond pleased when I found these nearly-new beauties for $7 at my local thrift store.




Cute right? And when paired with one of my fave denim shirt-dresses it made the perf summer outfit.

Have a lovely Monday, won't you? It's summer and it's sunny, so take a deep breath, 

have a diet coke and have a great day. 

XO/ W.

And don't forget to enter this fab giveway... you are running out of time!

Five Things Friday.

1. Colorful skinny jeans. I have a pair of red, W has a pair of pink. So cute for summer and so much more versatile than you would expect, and such a cute way to add color to an outfit.

{shop}

2. Strawberry blackberry shortcake. Uh, hello? Strawberry shortcake is my dessert of choice in the summer. And this version from Joy the Baker looks divine. Making. It. Come over for some, won't you?

3. Of course, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part II. Yep. I am one of those people and I am so freaking excited I can't even stand it. I will be seeing the movie Saturday at 1:50 pm. If you saw it at midnight, I would love to hear what you thought. Feel free to leave opinions by comments or email. And look how cute these three have turned out. Like, seriously.

4. Karmin. The cutest little duo who is incredibly talented. I really can't believe we haven't shared them with you before now. Enjoy.




5. Shopping with W. We had some major success at the thrift store yesterday and will be sharing our finds real soon! It was SO fuuuun. I hope you all have someone like that to go shopping with. If not, call me. You can come with us.

Have a great weekend! And enter to win yourself that sassy Mikarose dress already!

-S.

Dresses part II.

Happy Thursday friends!! We've almost made it! Thank. Goodness. And what better way to pass the hours until Friday than by discussing one of my favorite things? It's spray paint. I love it. I spray paint everything. If I want to give something an update instead having to buy something brand new, I spray paint it. Old pair of ballet flats I wish were grey and not black? Spray paint them. Need a pair of earrings in red and only have silver? Spray paint them. Want a white cat instead of a black one? Spray paint it. {Ok, that was a joke. I love my cat and do not abuse animals. Please do not email and scold me.}

Don't be afraid of spray paint, people. It is the cheap fashionista's BFF. For example, when the fabulous Mikarose sent me the darling Riley dress, I didn't have the perfect belt for it. What I did have was an extra black belt and some gold spray paint:

...a couple minutes later I had the perfect belt for my perfect Mikarose dress:

Isn't this dress the prettiest? It fits like a glove, the length could not be more perfect, the fabric and style are so lovely, and, my favorite, it's got pockets baby! How could I NOT love it?? 

Now get out there and spray paint your little hearts out! 

And click here to get your own Riley dress. You will thank me. 

And don't forget, you can enter to win your own Mikarose dress. The fabulous Ashley dress, to be exact, the same one that Morgan just happens to be styling today and is looking faaaabulous {click here to see her, once you do I know you will be dying to win one for yourself. Freaking cute.}

oxoxo/W.