friend beauty fashion friday:: vacation packing (and what to wear on a long flight)

This week's Friend Beauty Fashion Friday couldn't be more appropriate. We're talking about vacations and what to pack. Which is exactly what I'm doing today- tomorrow Mr. DU and I head out to California for a much-needed break from life (although, not too much of a break since I'm planning on Skyping an interview out there and I'm still scoping out the job scene plus I'm conducting market research for my thesis project- I like to multitask). So here are this week's questions:

1. When it comes to packing for vacation what’s your mantra?
   Don't forget to pack enough underwear. And accessories, accessories, accessories. They can really change up your outfit from day to night. And I pack lots of neutrals with one or two pops of color to make it easier to mix and match pieces.
   
   Also, throw some underwear and contact solution in your carry on. I know I keep mentioning underwear, but really, missed flights and lost luggage happen. And no one wants to be caught with dirty underwear.
   
2. What are your must packs?
   As far as what I'm wearing, that depends where I'm going. More on that in a minute. As far as other items, I'm never, ever without my DSLR camera or my iPhone. Most of the souvenirs I have from trips are the pictures I take.
   
   So back to wearables.
   
   For the past several years, Mr. DU and I have headed out to California for vacation (hey, if I can't live there, I'm sure as hell going to visit as much as possible). I always take a lightweight jacket, no matter what time of year and no matter where I go in California, because I always get cold there, especially in the evenings.
   
   Other than that, I pack items I can wear for hiking and kayaking, plus cute clothes for site seeing, and clothes for going out at night. Generally the latter two can be mixed and matched, but the hiking/kayaking clothes aren't going to be mixed into my evening wardrobe.
   
3. What are you happy to leave behind?
   Stress. And PA.
   
4. Any packing secrets that help you get everything into one suitcase?
   After a few horrible experiences with too much luggage (seriously, I did not need an entire suitcase of shoes for just one week), I've pretty much mastered packing a lot but packing it well.
   
   I pack the heaviest items first, like jeans, and lay them flat on the bottom. Then I roll up knits instead of folding them. I stuff socks into shoes, and just generally make sure everything is arranged neatly. Sloppy packing means less room for your stuff, or results in stuffing it in and possible suitcase rippage. Trust me, you don't want your suitcase to ripp open at baggage check because of your lack of packing skills combined with your tendency to over pack, and then have to duct tape it shut just before you leave for a month-long trip to Europe. Not that I know about that from experience or anything.
   
5. Beach reading… what are you taking with you to read in the sand?
   A big stack of fashion magazines. And those trashy celeb weeklies. Summer beach time is not the time for me to stimulate my brain.

And while we're talking about traveling and vacations, I might as well throw in my two cents here about what to wear when flying. My rules: It has to be comfortable, cute, and layerable. Sort of like this outfit (which I actually wore to lunch with my mom this afternoon, but decided that it will do just swell for the flight tomorrow morning, too):



I had two people stop me on the street to ask me where I got this dress (for the record, the Target clearance rack, summer 2009), so I guess it fulfills the cute requirement of my flight attire rules. And it pretty much feels like a nightgown, so we can check off comfy, too. Easy to wear with a cardi and a scarf, so....we're done. Cute, comfortable, layerable. Rules to fly by.

So anyway, everyone, I'm off to California! I'll be back June 13 (or around there) with posts again. I'll be posting regularly to Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook while I'm away, so check in with me there! Have a great weekend!

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Fashion Beauty Friend Friday (FBFF) is the brainchild of Katy over at Modly Chic. Every week, she creates a set of questions and FBFF participants answer them on our blogs. On Friday. See, that's why it's called Fashion Beauty Friend Friday. Visit her blog to find out more or join the fun!

fashion beauty friend friday:: inspiration

Wow! It's been a while since I participated in a Fashion Beauty Friend Friday, but I'm back this week. And these questions are a very special set of questions- FBFF just celebrated its one-year anniversary and these are the very first set of questions posted for the event. So, here we go!

1. Which celebrity (celebrities) do you look to for fashion inspiration?
I'll admit, I'm a little bit of a junkie when it comes to celeb style. I love People StyleWatch for that very reason. A few of my favorite celebs right now are Olivia Palermo, Lauren Conrad, Kate Hudson, Rachel Bilson, Evangeline Lilly, Jessica Alba, and Zooey Daschanel.

2. When it comes to your own personal style, what inspires you?
Color and texture! But really, so many things. I read magazines and fashion blogs, watch fashion shows, shop my own closet, peruse the internet and just generally look around me for inspiration. It can come from anywhere.

3. How do you hope to inspire your readers?
I don't know that I've gotten that far with my blog's mission yet. I think I just want people to be themselves and be real. I try to do that on my blog- ridiculousness, imperfections, and all.

4. Outside the realm of fashion who/what inspires you?
Art and photography are hugely inspiring to me. As is nature. Nature probably wins for top inspiration, especially anywhere by the beach. Something about the air there just makes me feel like I can do anything. Did I just admit that salty, beachy air makes me high? I think I just did. I find cities inspiring as well. They just have an energy and culture about them that you just don't find in suburbia or rural areas. Plus the people watching is pretty fun, too.

5. And since Idol is ending… Which songs inspire you?
Soooooo many songs inspire me. I could go on forever really, but here are a few recent ones:

• Marie Digby, Beauty in Walking Away
• Belinda Carlisle, The Story (or the Sara Ramirez version from Grey's Anatomy)
• Midnight Hour, Running Away (from Ghost Whisperer episode Curse of the Ninth)

I could keep going but I have things to do today that don't involve camping out in front of my computer!

Photo by me.

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Fashion Beauty Friend Friday (FBFF) is the brainchild of Katy over at Modly Chic. Every week, she creates a set of questions and FBFF participants answer them on our blogs. On Friday. See, that's why it's called Fashion Beauty Friend Friday. Visit her blog to find out more or join the fun!

fashion beauty friend friday:: finding balance

This week's--er...last week's--Fashion Beauty Friend Friday we asked the question, "How do you do it all and still live, work and play as you should?" (And where does your blog land in those priorities?) The fact that I'm posting Fashion Beauty Friend Friday on a Sunday should give you some indication about how my answers will roll here, but nevertheless, let's go!

1. When it comes to prioritizing your life, in what place does blogging fall?
Um...last? Seriously. As much as I hate to say it, it's last. Dead. Last. Here's how my priorities tumble: family (including Thing 1, Thing 2, and Thing 3), friends, work/grad school (these are sort of interchangeable--I have a tough time prioritizing one over the other), other obligations (errands, house stuff, working out, etc.), freelancing, blogging and jewelry design side biz. Yeah. Full schedule over here.

2. We all wish we had more free time to dedicate to blogging and all it entails. What are your tricks for taking advantage of the time you do have to be as productive as possible?
I have a notebook that I carry with me and I write down ideas for posts because I have a constant stream of ideas and if I didn't write them down, I'd completely forget about them two seconds later. I also always keep my iPhone with me to snap impromptu pictures. It's not the same as my fancy DSLR, but it works in a pinch (and there are a lot of pinches around here).

3. Have you discovered any short-cuts that makes blogging easier or more time efficient?
There are no short cuts for anything worthwhile. Really. I have no short cuts to share with you. It's just a matter of squeezing it in when I have time.

4. Do you have an editorial calendar or something similar that helps you plan ahead?
Yes, I do. I was a journalism major as an undergrad, so that's helped me keep it organized. Although, even the editorial calendar can't save me from my schedule. It helps, though, and it also helps with the long-term vision I have for my blog.

5. If time wasn’t an issue what you would be doing on your blog/for your blog that you aren’t doing now?
So. Many. Things. I'd do fancy photo shoots, post more what I wore pictures, recipes, DIYs, more creative projects (jewelry design, photography, etc), tons of other regular columns I have ideas for but no time to execute...I'd attend blogging conferences, I'd reach out to companies I want to work with and overall, I'd just post a ton more in general. I'd also spend a lot more time Tweeting and commenting on other people's blogs- just building relationships. I've met some great people through blogging and I'd like to have even more time to get to know them better (and to meet more new ones).

And I'd be over at Wordpress with a better blog design. I'm okay with one I have right now, but I have an idea to rework it once my real-life studio is finished so that it truly is a design extension of that. We'll see how soon that happens (the studio and the blog redesign).

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Fashion Beauty Friend Friday (FBFF) is the brainchild of Katy over at Modly Chic. Every week, she creates a set of questions and FBFF participants answer them on our blogs. On Friday. See, that's why it's called Fashion Beauty Friend Friday. Visit her blog to find out more or join the fun!

fashion beauty friend friday:: beauty products

I'm back with Fashion Beauty Friend Friday after missing a few weeks. This week, it's all about beauty products. Fun!


1. What's your favorite drug store makeup product and your favorite higher-end product?
For a drugstore product, I'm a huge fan of Studio Secrets Professional Secret No.1 Magic Perfecting Base (3). For higher-end products, I really love bareMinerals foundations and powders (5). Pretty much anything bareMinerals, actually.

2. Is there one type of product that is your go-to, can't live without?
Definitely The Original MoroccanOil® Oil Treatment (1). Nothing keeps the humidity from turning me into a giant blondish-brown cotton candy pouf better than this stuff. Nothing. Trust me. I've tried.

And also, lip gloss. I luuuuuurve lip gloss. My favorite, by far is C.O. Bigelow Winter Cordials in Hot Buttered Rum (6), which sadly was limited edition and I'm on the last few drops of my tube. But a recent E-bay search yielded some results. Apparently, I can buy some used. Really????

3. What's the best hair product you've ever used?
Um...MoroccanOil. Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Hold & Shine Moisture Mist (4) also tops my list. It works really well to keep my stubborn hair under control and it smells all beachy and summery, too.

4. Fess up, what's the worst beauty look you've tried to rock and look back at now with a little shame or apprehension that you actually did that?
I may have colored my hair construction cone orange when I was a freshman in college. I also may have colored my bangs bright purple at the same time. May have. Also, this was not a trend. I was just a bored, crazy college freshman. Two summers ago boredom struck again and I got the brilliant idea to color my hair bright, bright red. Not brilliant. Not at all. I'm much better with my natural color and some highlights, thanks.

If we're talking trends, I definitely rocked out with in the early 90s with a perm and huge, hairsprayed-to-the-sky bangs. I'm not sure why I felt the need to curl my naturally (very) wavy hair.

5. When it comes to beauty products, we all use the same basic products. What do you use that helps show off your personal flair and personality?
I'm not too into crazy products or keeping a huge stash of beauty items, but I do tend to stick with something that I really like (uh...like MoroccanOil).

One thing I do really like is colorful eye shadow. Sparkly mineral versions are my favorite and I recently came across Orglamix on Etsy (2) and I love this seller! Such great colors and the eye shadow stays on all day. I know many people are apprehensive of a handmade beauty product, but I've been using this stuff for quite a while and my eyeballs have not fallen out of my head.

So. Is anyone else as obsessed with MoroccanOil as I am? Bueller...Bueller?

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Fashion Beauty Friend Friday (FBFF) is the brainchild of Katy over at Modly Chic. Every week, she creates a set of questions and FBFF participants answer them on our blogs. On Friday. See, that's why it's called Fashion Beauty Friend Friday. Visit her blog to find out more or join the fun!

fashion beauty friend friday:: color wars

It's FBFF! This week we're talking about color.


{ rainbow wheel by bomobob }

1. What color dominates your closet?
I'm not really sure...I have a ton of different colors in my closet because I really, really love color. I don't even own a little black dress (but I do own a little coral dress and a little blue dress and a little gold dress and a little leopard print dress and...yeah, you get the idea). But certain colors that I really love, like aqua and purple, don't really appear too often in my closet. I'm not really a muted pastel kind of person (as far as clothing) and they just don't make enough purple clothes!

2. If money weren't an issue how would you change the color emphasis
in your closet?
Uh...I'd buy things I liked in every available color. And I'd probably have things I liked made in colors that were unavailable. Hey, if the dress fits, buy it in every color, right?

3. What is your mantra about mixing colors?
Have fun and try the unexpected! Don't be afraid of bright or bold colors, and if you're really scared of a color, just pair it with a ton of neutrals and just go with one pop of bright color. (I have yet to meet a color I'm scared of...although, Honeysuckle, Pantone's color of the year, has me marginally apprehensive.)

4. For you, how do you incorporate color into your outfits?
I tend to either combine a few really bold colors (like this look that I posted on the DU Facebook page because I didn't have time to blog it) or I wear one really bright color and surround it by neutrals (pictures of that coming next week).

5. Which blogger(s) do you think do a good job of incorporating color
into their wardrobe?
There are a lot of good color mixers out there, but I always love Kendi Everyday's colors.


{ color wheel bracelet by nest pretty things }

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Fashion Beauty Friend Friday (FBFF) is the brainchild of Katy over at Modly Chic. Every week, she creates a set of questions and FBFF participants answer them on our blogs. On Friday. See, that's why it's called Fashion Beauty Friend Friday. Visit her blog to find out more or join the fun!

fashion beauty friend friday:: determining blog content

1. With all the blogging events out there how do you determine which ones to participate in and which ones to avoid?
I'm fairly new the blogging event world and FBFF is the first one I've participated in. I did try 52 Weeks of Blogging your Passion last year on my old blog, but I found that it just didn't work with that blog's mission. I do think as I move further on with the DU blog that I will be able to revisit that project (and actually complete it this time!).

2. Be honest, have you ever jumped on the bandwagon of some blogging movement/event for the wrong reasons? How did that turn out?
Nope. I joined FBFF because I wanted to participate in a fairly low maintenance event that also had a sense of community built around it so I could meet some fellow fashion bloggers. So far, so good. Although, I'd like to participate more in the discussion boards, and some weeks I just don't have the time to comment on as many blogs as I'd like, but I'm working on it. And I'm glad to be participating.

3. How do you give your own flair to a blog event while still maintaining the general mission and purpose?
I always make sure to stay true to my own voice and the idea behind my blog (which I'll admit is a bit of a work in progress at the moment). Once I hammer out my actual mission here, beyond my senseless ramblings which I'm sure are absolutely riveting, I think I'd have a better answer to this question.

4. When determining the best content for your blog what criterion do you keep in mind?
This is tough for me because I sort of walk the line between two blogging worlds- the fashion blogging world and the design/inspiration blogging world. I'm working on getting those things to mesh while still including personal content, and that's a large reason why the blog is a work in progress.

My criteria are largely undefined right now because I felt like I needed to stop planning my blog and just start doing. I have notebooks filled with ideas and categories and sketches, but ultimately, the planning process and the idea that I wanted a perfectly organized and perfectly designed blog from the start was holding me back from getting started at all.

I will say that I love the idea of Kendi Everyday's 30 for 30 challenge, but I feel like posting daily outfits is a bit much for me right now. I'd eventually like to participate in that, though.

I'm also waiting for Brandi Girl to do another Color Palette Blog Walk! And I recently discovered the Art Bead Scene's Monthly Challenge and I think I'd like to try that sometime, too.

5. While everything will not suit your blog, how do you try and support your fellow bloggers who are participating in something worthwhile but not your style?
I comment and spread the word when I can. Just because I can't or don't want to participate in a blogging event as a blogger doesn't mean I can't participate as a commenter, right? Right.

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Fashion Beauty Friend Friday (FBFF) is the brainchild of Katy over at Modly Chic. Every week, she creates a set of questions and FBFF participants answer them on our blogs. On Friday. See, that's why it's called Fashion Beauty Friend Friday. Visit her blog to find out more or join the fun!

Photo by Mr. DU (that's me in the picture, in San Diego, in case you're wondering). Photo edits by me. Texture by Kim Klassen.

fashion beauty friend friday:: blogger mechanics

Welcome to my second Fashion Beauty Friend Friday (FBFF) post! This week we're talking about technology and the tools we use for blogging.

1. What technology do you use in blogging? (computer, camera, video
camera, tripod, etc...)
I use a Dell PC (meh!) to post most of my blog posts. And I use a combination of cameras, depending on how much time I have.

Sadly, I am not fortunate to have a boyfriend/fiance/husband/friend photographer-person who can shoot magazine quality pictures of me, so I'm stuck doing it myself. If I have time and want to take a bunch of photos, I use my Canon Rebel xSi. I have several different lenses for that, plus a tripod and a remote. For quick shots, especially quick shots for What I Wore posts, I use an Olympus Stylus point-and-shoot with a self-timer.

And of course, I do love my little Hipstamatic iPhone app. I use that a lot (obviously not for outfit pictures, but for a ton of other photos). I have over 1000 photos on my phone right now. Clearly, I have some updating and file management to do.

2. What computer and online technology do you use? (blogging system,
photo storage, photo editing tools, etc..)
Right now, I'm running my blog on Blogger, which is okay for now, but eventually I'd like to migrate over to Wordpress. But first, I'd like to actually get back into the blogging rhythm and get a suitable design up on my blog on Blogger before I go tackling Wordpress.

I use Photoshop CS3 for photo editing and an external hard drive for file management. I use Flickr as my online photo tool. To keep track of inspirational photos and things I may want to blog about in the future, I recently started using Pinterest.

3. What is your process for taking pictures?
Right now, since I'm just working out some kinks, I don't have a set process. Generally, I'll set aside a few hours on the weekends (when I have a few hours on the weekends, which happens every 8th weekend or so) to shoot several outfit pictures using my DSLR. Then I load them onto my computer and edit them.

If I don't have time, and I get home from work early enough so there's enough natural light (which only happens when we have a snow day), I'll snap a few quick shots with the point-and-shoot of the outfit I actually wore that day.

And that is why I don't post daily outfit photos.

4. When it comes to backdrops for your photos what do you consider? Do
you scout locations or shoot the same spot daily?
It's been a struggle for me since I haven't had a very good, well lit spot to take pictures and I just don't have to the time to go tromping all over town to find good spots. But, we recently moved in a very bright house and I have a third floor studio space that I can use for pictures in the winter (like yesterday's picture) and a nice backyard that I can use for pictures when it gets warmer (which is happening soon, right?).

5. If you could splurge and get one new piece of equipment what would
you be buying?
A Mac. Okay. Two Macs. A desktop and a laptop. I have a Mac at work and I just love it. It makes me hate my PC even more. I'd also like some more camera lenses and other fun equipment like lights and bounce boards. And I'd like an iPad. And a video recorder. And...oh. Wait, the question was only about splurging on one thing, wasn't it? Okay. Two Macs it is then! (That counts as one thing since it's from the same store, right?)

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Fashion Beauty Friend Friday (FBFF) is the brainchild of Katy over at Modly Chic. Every week, she creates a set of questions and FBFF participants answer them on our blogs. On Friday. See, that's why it's called Fashion Beauty Friend Friday. Visit her blog to find out more or join the fun!

Photo by me

fashion beauty friend friday:: being authentic

Happy Friday! I don't know about you, but I had the longest week ever. It started when I woke up on Tuesday and thought it was Wednesday, then Wednesday I thought it was Thursday, then Thursday I thought it was Friday. Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to do three days twice in one week?

But today is actually Friday (right???) and I'm introducing a new weekly feature. I can't take credit for this idea. Fashion Beauty Friend Friday (FBFF) is the brainchild of Katy over at Modly Chic. Every week, she creates a set of questions and FBFF participants answer them on our blogs. On Friday. See, that's why it's called Fashion Beauty Friend Friday. Visit her blog to find out more or join the fun!

This week, we're talking about the value of authenticity in the blogging world.


{ express yourself fine art photography print by gabrielle kai }
1. Most readers and fellow fashion bloggers value authenticity in the
blogs they read. How would you describe blog/blogger authenticity?
It's so funny that this is the topic for my very first FBFF. Authenticity is the exact reason why I chose to merge all of my blogs into Displaced Urbanite and the topic has been rolling around in my brain for a few weeks.

To me, authenticity is just being real. Being yourself and letting your own voice shine through. Not trying to mimic a popular blogger or forcing yourself to take on a voice and a persona that's not really you. Obviously, blogs are highly edited versions of our true selves, but when someone is using an obviously forced or fake voice to their blog, readers can tell. For me, that fakeness is an instant turnoff.

2. When it comes to your blog how to you infuse it with that true/
authentic feeling?
As mentioned, I moved all of my blogs into this blog because I felt like this blog was the most "me." Yes, I love indie shopping and handmade and I will (and do) continue to blog about that here. But for me being able to just let loose and use my true voice and write exactly what I'm thinking all while delivering (hopefully) interesting content just trumps trying to produce something that isn't the best representation of me.

It's far more fun, far less exhausting and requires much less thought to just be myself and post about what truly interests me at that exact moment rather than posting about just one topic.Plus, I work in marketing. I deal with strategy and planning all day, every day. I want my blog to be a refuge from the strategy and the planning. (Not that I never plan out posts here, but allowing myself some leeway to post about a variety of topics feels much less confining than posting in a niche.)

3. Have you stopped following a blog in the last three months? What
made you lose interest?
I wouldn't say I've stopped following a blog, but I do read a few with less regularity. And my loss of interest does boil down to a lack of authenticity as opposed to uninteresting content. I understand if you're not the greatest writer but you still want to blog. I can look past that, but if it becomes obvious to me that you are trying to sound like another blogger or what you think is popular out there in blogland, even if you have content that interests me, I'm going to stop reading regularly.

Using a fake blogging voice is the equivalent to carrying around fake Gucci bag. It's tacky, it devalues the creativity of the creator and it makes you look like a wannabe. And it cheats you out of something that's truly unique and more valuable than that fake bag ever will be- discovering your own voice. Better to be the less expensive but real non-designer bag than the fake knock-off, right?

4. We can't communicate effectively on our blogs, something we don't
live in real life... what are some ways you try to live an authentic
life?
Remember when your mom told you to just be yourself and your real friends would like you for it (or in spite of it)? Well, mom was right. I'm myself all the time, every where. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't put on a fake facade. If I like you, you know it. If I don't...well, we'll be cordial but we won't be grabbing a coffee together or laughing over drinks any time soon.

5. Give a shout-out... Which bloggers do you think are truly genuine
and why?
Fortunately, there are so many bloggers out there who are genuine (more that are than that aren't). Here are a few of my favorites:

• Brandi at Brandi Girl
• Kelly at Dresses & Cake
• Vivian at Diamonds & Tulle
• And here's a brand new blogger (to me)- apparently, we share an affinity for Ghost Whisperer fashion: Kylie at Girly Girl

Whew! I made it through my first FBFF. Check out the rest of the FBFF bunch right here. Happy weekend, everyone!