friday's fancies - pretty in pastels

This week's Friday's Fancies theme with long distance loving is pretty in pastels. This light yellow lace dress is classic and pretty, and goes well with stack of pastel bangles. The bright pink shoes add even more color!

dress, pink bracelet, mint bracelet, yellow bracelet, shoes

xo-ally

bumblebee

 Dress Vivid Collection (totally loving this similar one!!) Jacket from a market in Italy (here's a cool, trendy take on a leather hoodie with color blocking) Tights F21 Wedges Tory Burch (similar) Bag Tory Burch (similar) Ring Henri Bendel Nail Polish Essie "Playa del Platinum"

Unlike yesterday, I woke up to a gray sky and drizzling rain. It felt like Seattle...ick. Instead of wearing the black peacoat I intended to wear, I threw on my black leather hoodie from Italy! I realized I haven't worn it in a while since it has been so cold. The leather material is soft and as smooth as butter. Also the material makes the outfit look a little more dressed up than a cotton or velour hoodie would. It's nice to pull it back out of my closet!

As you can tell, I am wearing mostly black with a huge pop of yellow in my dress. I love wearing bright colors in the winter! I played up the black in the rest of the outfit, and bounced off the yellow with gold accessories like my bow ring and the chain strap on my Tory Burch bag. Beige nail polish added a subtle, yet clean touch.

Happy Thursday - almost the weekend!

xo-ally

PS - to the girls that commented asking for a hot rollers hair tutorial - I am definitely considering it! I would need to practice the style more, however.....we'll see. I'll keep you updated if I do one. :)

dresses for vegas

I'm going to Las Vegas for part of spring break, and I'm so excited! Our basketball team will be playing in the WCC tournament and I can't wait to go. I am currently in the market for some dresses to wear in The Vegs. I want to look polished but fun without spending a lot of money (since I don't know how often I'll wear these dresses post-Vegas.) Here are four frocks I'm admiring:

one, two, three, four

I'll probably only need two dresses, maybe three. Which one(s) should I go for?

xo-ally

friday's fancies - sweater season

This week's theme with Friday's Fancies at long distance loving is Sweater Season. I pulled together an outfit with an adorable scottie dog sweater dress, fleece-lined leggings (can you say warm?! Must be a gift from Heaven...), yellow Hunter rain boots, and gold accessories. This outfit will brighten up any dreary day!

sweater, leggings, boots, ring, bracelet

xo-ally

yellow in photos

I got my Nikon DSLR camera two Christmases ago, and the photo quality is great! I'm still learning how to use it, and I often use the very convenient Auto setting... (Don't worry, I'm taking a photography class this fall!) So far, the camera basically does most of the work for me. One of my favorite aspects of the high quality photos is the color! Blue skies look magnificent and yellow just pops.

Here are three unedited photos that show how great yellow looks!

This photo opportunity was too tempting to pass up! A fire hydrant is basically a bland item on the street, but on the sunny day, I just had to get a shot of it because it is yellow.

I took this at The Colosseum in Rome! This was a random, tiny little sign.

One of the guys from GIF sleeping on a ferry bench...he is going to KILL me if he ever sees this photo on here!

I'm excited to take the photography class in the fall and get more great photos! On the manual setting. Hopefully. We'll see! 

xo

these jeans are from high school

Scarf: Market in Florence Jacket, tanks, flats: Nordstrom Jeans: Hudson Watch: Michael Kors Bracelets: F21

Skinny jeans have become such a staple in our denim wardrobes these days that it is hard to remember a time when they weren't popular. For me, junior high and high school was the beginning of the skinny jean trend. It is crazy to think how much skinny jeans are now the "norm" with denim when the "norm" years back was boot-cut!

I got my first pair of skinny jeans six years ago - I remember being excited about tucking them into cowboy boots without the fabric bunching out the sides. (That was during the days of Jessica Simpson starring in the Daisy Duke movie. I still have those boots, by the way.) I'd wear boot-cut jeans more often in high school, with graphic tees and Abercrombie fur-lined hoodies. (Oh, the days when that was considered fashion...)

Now that wider-leg jeans are becoming trendy again, I thought I'd pull these back out. I feel like they're not as flattering as my beloved skinnies, but maybe it's because I haven't seen myself wearing boot-cut jeans in ages! I added colors on the top of the outfit, a side pony, and a splash of sparkle on the flats to complete the outfit.

xo

what is this thing? a knitted headband?

Tunic: Macy's Jeans: Forever 21 Boots: Corso Como Bracelets: Nordstrom Watch: Michael Kors Knitted Headband: Anthropologie

I'm not sure what to call this thing on my head. A headband? A knitted headband? A kind-of-hat? Whatever you call it, it is one of my go-to cold weather accessories. It is a winter take on the hippie headband, and provides a lot of extra warmth as the temperatures drop. Speaking of, it was supposed to snow last night but it didn't! I'm glad. I'm not ready for the snow yet.

I'm also a fan of stripes. I love bright colors, especially in the winter. Cold weather accessories make a bright sweater feel more "appropriate" (though I think bright colors are acceptable all year round) and adds a little dose of happiness on a cloudy day, in my opinion.

The new Trader Joe's just opened in Spokane last weekend. I went on the opening day and it was madness. Complete madness. The lines reached the back of the store and I waited to check out for 45 minutes. I went back today and some items were completely sold out! Including my favorite peanut butter-filled, chocolate covered pretzels...but that's okay. Now that Halloween's over, I'm going to stock up on plenty of half-priced chocolate and peanut butter candy from the other grocery store. Reese's pumpkins? Yes, please!



Hello Wednesday

Jacket: Vivid Collection Tanks: Nordstrom Shorts: Rock & Republic Shoes: American Eagle Stud Earrings: Claire's Headband: Barneys New York

I need to work on not cutting off my shoes in photos...at least I didn't fully cut them out like yeterday! These are my new lil' sneaks I got from American Eagle last weekend and so far they're pretty comfortable. I started with the blue color and white polka dots from the shoes and made my outfit from there. I added this peacock headband I got in New York a couple years ago at the beginning of the whole feather hype. I can't believe how strong the trend is still going!

Also, for any other lovers of Forever 21 out there, their free shipping deal (on orders over $21) ends tonight, so if you're thinking about a few items, now's the time to order them! I have my eye on a couple things but I can't decide if I really need them...I just went shopping...guess we'll see.

Time to do errands and write a paper. Fun...

xo