So I am here to show you, a cute winter outfit, and prove once and for all, that you can still
look cute, even in the winter!

- An adorable Tee
This is my Bob Marley quarter sleeve length tee by Zion Rootswear.

-An adorable skirt
I wear mine high-waisted. I got this cute denim skirt for only $.25 at a thrift store!
It's by Pins and Needles.


-Leggings
These are the most important part of any cute winter outfit. It allows you to wear a
skirt, dress, or shorts, while keeping your legs from becoming popsicles! I got these
adorable galaxy leggings from Rue 21 for only $2!

-A sweater
I absolutely adore sweaters. The more old lady looking the better! I get all my sweaters
from thrift stores-they always have plenty, and in any color you need! Wearing a sweater
over your t-shirt makes certain your outfit won't be lost in an oversized hoody.

-Boots and fur leg warmers
Gotta have warm fuzzy boots to complete your warm and adorable winter outfit!
If your boots aren't long enough, never fear! Get yourself a pair of
fuzzy leg warmers, and place them over your boots. You can find any color and
length on Etsy. 

-Gloves
I got these great tiger gloves from Kohl's for under $4.00!
Thank you so much for reading, I am so happy to be guest blogging on this great blog!
Now go on out there and create your adorable winter outfit!
Jessica LaPinta (China Barbie) is the author of My Peace Love Life Blog (www.mypeacelovelife.com). She is a part time model, housewife, and crafter. Obsessed with goal writing, list making, and crossing things of her bucket list, she is always busy with one adventure or another. China Barbie is a globe-trotting flower child, with a pension for healthy living, changing the world, and making her own fashion statement.

Merry Christmas! It's time for the annual Christmas look of Dollar Store Diva. I feel like every year, my Christmas look changes with my style. If you've been following my blog, you've seen my style change throughout the years. However, most people go through style changes. This year everything is darker, slimmer, and smokier.

Christmas 2014

Christmas 2013

Christmas 2012

My OOTD:

Tank: White House Black Market

Shoes: ALDO

Necklace: Forever 21

Joggers: Kohls

I could get away with a tank top because it's unseasonably warm. I'd like to thank the Heat Miser and my lack of self-restraint.  I got this tank from work (WHBM) after the first shift I worked this break, and loved its simple elegance.

My FOTD:

Eyeshadow: LORAC Pro 

Mascara: CoverGirl #Plumpify

Lips: MAC

Eyeliner: CoverGirl

Highlighter: Benefit "It Girl"

Blush: NYC Cinnamon 

I got the Influenster VoxBox, for free, with the CoverGirl #Plumpify Mascara.

The #plumpify mascara has a bilayer wand for extra plumpness of my eyelashes. Here's a before and after picture:

You can also see a closeup of my winged eyeliner, highlighter at the corner of my eyes, and revlon eyebrow filler. I love the shape and definition this gives my eyelashes. 

Here's a picture of our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day spread:

You know those days when you just love your outfit so much you want everyone to appreciate it? That was my day on Friday, December 11. How else would I increase my amount of outfit appreciators? Make an #OOTD blog post about it, duh!

Cardigan: Forever 21

Tank Top: Forever 21

Jeans: Charlotte Russe

Booties: Payless

Usually in the north shore of Massachusetts, December 12 means I'm bundling up in my chunky sweaters, North Face jacket, fuzzy socks, and my bean boots. However, I'm getting away with this chunky Forever 21 seater and light tank top. Temperatures have been between 50 and 59 degrees Fahrenheit around here.

Lately, my style has been two words:  masculine and dark. I loved playing with the two textures of this tank top and cardigan. I also love seeing how the pants and booties work together.

After work yesterday, my mom and I decided to go to Old Navy because apparently they were having another amazing sale where everything in the store was up to 60% off. Sometimes Old Navy does this really awesome thing were they do that. One of the many things I love about Old Navy.

Another thing I love about them is that they're a great place to stock up on basics. I got some basic shorts, a tank, and a skirt. However, I also got some non-basic sunglasses and dress. There's always great finds there.  It's helping me achieve my "normcore" look and fill my love for mom jeans, birkenstocks, and things of that nature. Here are my finds from my haul!

Can't wait to rock this outfit. Something tells me it will be very soon.

Maxi Skirt - $20.96

Sunglasses - $13.56

T shirt dress - $13.55

Loving this casual yet preppy dress. Something about it just makes me feel put-together yet beachy simultaneously.

All prices listed above are with the discount, not the original ones. Old Navy isn't always the cheapest, compares to places like Forever 21, so these were some GOOD deals. Everything I purchased was at least 20% off.

Did you get any good deals recently?

There's the whole "white after Labor Day" baloney, however, what about pastel and Memorial Day? Should pastel only live between the strict weeks between Easter and Memorial Day? Or is it a summer staple? With bright colors of all hues being embraced this season and seasons past, why should we let a time of year restrict what we can wear?

I thought I'd play with different shades of my favorite color - blue - and my favorite metal - gold - for this look. I'm obsessed with this scalloped blue crop top from TopShop, and equally as obsessed with these mediterranean sandals from Payless. 

These embroidered high waisted shorts from Forever 21 add a mix of texture. I tied in the mix of blue and gold with my gold elephant bracelet, my blue bracelet from Greece, and various Alex and Anis.

Makeup was simple today with just lotion, highlighter, blush, eyeliner, mascara, and a pink lip.

Crop Top: TopShop

Shorts: Forever 21

Sandals: Payless

Bracelets: Alex & Ani, Boutique shops

Lips: Covergirl

What are you up to this weekend? I did a mix of fun things: a concert, a red sox game, cookouts, and running. A good time with friends and family. It was a good time to relax before diving head into the internship/work life during the week again.

Eeep! As a blogger, you have one of those defining moments when a company/website you love contacts you. I just had mine with DailyLook! They asked me to use one of their LBD dresses to style a spring look and enter my Style Set in their competition.

Dailylook does my dream job every single day - they put outfits together for fun. I always turn to them when I'm in need of some outfit inspiration.

An LBD is obviously a staple in many women's closets', however I feel like I haven't really gotten myself a good LBD. I was browsing DailyLook's LBD section and I fell in love with the different ways DL thinks of an LBD. There was fringe, lace, maxi, mini - everything. I chose the Glamorous Patchwork Fringe Dress as my dress to base my outfit off of.

Hello, lovelies! You know when you put an outfit together and outfit and you're just like, "this is totally blog-gable, I must blog this!" Or maybe that's just a blogger struggle... 

This morning at our PRSSA meeting, we had an established manner coach, Jodi Smith, who has been on the Today Show, GMA, and more come and teach us some business etiquette. We thought it was appropriate to dress up in business casual attire. I thought I'd use a new-old sweater I found at a thrift shop for $5 this weekend, and the newest addition to my statement necklace collection to base my business casual outfit. PR is a trendy business atmosphere, so I thought since it was a PRSSA meeting I would have some room for trendiness.

Sweater: H&M, $5 thrifted

Necklace: Francesca's Collections $28

Pants: BDG for Urban Outfitters $40

Shoes: Payless $15

Love the mixing of  edgy and sweet using pearls and a chain. 

This semester at school, my I'm focusing of personal style, fashion, and body image, with my three different research projects (I know, don't remind me). The topic of my first paper is, "How Personal Style Affects Personal Identity." The topic of my second paper is, "How Exercise Effects Body Image", and the third research project is about fashion in relation to PR & Marketing. So, I decided I'd write a post about personal style. 

Personal fashion sense is something that is very important to me. Without a doubt, I believe no matter how high or low fashion is on your list of priorities, fashion affects your self-perception. How? Don't ask me, I haven't quite conducted my research yet.

So, what is personal style? It's pretty self-explanatory. It's the style of clothes you gravitate towards and wear often. It's what clothes you feel the most "you" in. When I did a focus group in my class, the subjects agreed that they felt the most confident and comfortable simultaneously in their favorite outfits. When they are feeling the height of their comfort and confidence, they can then fully be "themselves." So, I guess you could say that personal style also encompasses personality and self-perception.

I'm not saying that everybody has to be in a box. I'm a firm believer in being in many boxes, but not spreading myself too thin. Why should we describe ourselves with such stereotypical words, when we could describe ourselves by our emotional and character traits? Instead of describing our personality as punky or sporty, how about we say that we are a kind, level-headed person that loves to play basketball? Sometimes I find myself dressing pop-punk with band shirts, flannels, and beanies. Sometimes, I find myself dressing preppy in button-downs and arm candy galore. Sometimes, I find myself dressing boho with paisley, flowy cardigans, and round sunglasses. However, I know my personality traits: determined, loyal, and level-headed. Instead of using boho as my personal style description, I'd use one personality trait, and a general word to describe the clothes I own.

So, I've come up with a very simple formula for finding our personal style. Our personality is the root of our style. The theme of the clothes we wear are the adjective. Below are two columns: personality traits and clothing traits. Pick one word from each column that describes your style. There's your personal style!

For example, my two words would be "driven trendy." I am driven to succeed in my life and my career, and I'm always looking for the newest trends in pretty much anything, but the pieces I buy are usually on-trend. So, my clothing style would be described as trendy. Also, the field I'm entering is all about being trendy, so it all ties in.

What are your two words? Comment below, or tweet me!