Big Thanks!

I am back in town after a week in the snowy land of Salt Lake City, Utah. I am beyond exhausted from the 2 hour time difference and I came home with a lovely souvenir in the form of a cold. I hope to be back in action over here very soon...as soon as I feel better and all that goodness. And I cannot even tell you how backed up I am on reading blogs. Oh vey.

I want to say a major THANK YOU to all of my guest bloggers who stepped in for me while I was away! You ladies shared some amazing posts and I was so grateful that you were so willing to lend a helping hand! I hope you all enjoyed their posts as well!

In case you missed any of them, I thought I would share their posts once more...you'll find some fashion, some beauty, some DIY and you may walk away finding a new favorite blog!

See how you can add pops of color to your look with some inspiration from Megan of The Frugalista Diaries!

Learn a new way to organize your beauty products with this easy DIY from Melissa of 20 Going On 80!

Spring is here...see the pretty pastels handpicked by Angela of Head to Toe Chic!

Learn some fun facts (and check out her cute outfit) about Kassi of The Closet Intervention!

Share your love of jewelry & your pup (or kitty) with these cute charms picked by Heather of Pearls and Paws!

Update your makeup collections with picks perfect for spring! See what Kristin of Dressed and Fed chose for this season!

Please check out these wonderful guest posts if you missed them last week & let them know that you stopped by...I'm sure they would love that!

And THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to the lovely ladies above! xo

Guest Post / Kristin from Dressed and Fed

While I am out of state for new job training, I have some pretty special blogging buddies that will be filling in for me this week. Please make them feel welcome!

Today's special guest is Kristin from Dressed and Fed

Spring Makeup 2012

I’m so delighted to guest blog for The Pretty Factor today. Erica has created a fun, candid blog about her fashion-filled life and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.

Just as the name evokes Spring is all about light, soft colors. This year’s Spring palette consists of fresh natural-looking skin, pastel or metallic eyes, sun-kissed cheeks, neutral lips, and light-colored nails. I’ve assembled a few items to get the upcoming season’s look.

Kristin
www.dressedandfed.com

Pastel and Metallic Eyes

1/ Nars eye shadow in D Gorgeous  2/ MAC Eye Shadow in Forgery 3/ MAC Glitter and Ice Mineral Eye Shadow in Frozen Blue 4/ Maybelline Expert Wear Eye Shadow in Seashell

Bronzed, sporty cheeks

5/ Rimmell Natural Bronzer  6/ Nars Bronzing Powder  7/ Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soft Matte Bronzer  8/ Guerlain Terracotta Bronzing Powder

Neutral, pink lips

9/ MAC Tinted Lip Glass in Underage  10/ Nars Lip Gloss in Turkish Delight  11/ Neutogena MoistureShine Lip Stick in Just Whisper 12/ MAC Lipstick in Crème d’Nude 13/ Vincent Longo Diamond Lip Gloss in Diamond Rose

Natural glowing skin

14/ Aveda Inner Light Mineral Tinted Moisturizer  15/ Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Foundation 16/ Boots No 7 Soft and Sheer Tinted Moisturizer  17/ Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer

Thank you so much Kristin! You just added a few items to my beauty shopping list!
Check out her blog for more amazing posts like this one! 

Guest Post / Heather from Pearls & Paws

While I am out of state for new job training, I have some pretty special blogging buddies that are filling in for me this week. Please make them feel welcome!

Today's special guest is Heather from Pearls & Paws

Dogeared necklace & charms (Dogeared Jewelry)

I am a huge fan of Dogeared jewelry, especially their necklaces... they are simple and dainty, and typically come with a messages like dream, wish, friendship, karma, etc. I have the gold karma necklace (featured here), but when I saw these little dog bones and paw charms, I thought they were just about the cutest things ever! And if you happen to be a cat lover, they have something for you too :)



Thank you so much Heather! Those charms are adorable!
Check out her blog...sometimes her little furry friend makes an appearance too :)

Guest Post / Kassi from The Closet Intervention

While I am out of state for new job training, I have some pretty special blogging buddies that are filling in for me this week. Please make them feel welcome!

Today's special guest is Kassi from The Closet Intervention

Hello everyone! I am Kassi, the blogger behind "The Closet Intervention." I am super delighted to be guest posting for Erica today!

Here are a few facts about me:

1. I live in Michigan and live less than 10 miles from the house I grew up in. I have been in Michigan my whole life minus 2 years of college in Oklahoma.

2. I turn 29 (for the first time) this year.

3. I recently went vegetarian. It's something I never thought I would do in my life.

4. I've been married for 8 and a half years to my hunky hubby. I don't know how I would live life without him

5. I am a huge fan of sports, especially football. Even more so with College Football. I scream and throw pillows. It's intense.

6. When it comes to fashion I just go with what I like. I kinda don't care if other people like it. My style is ever evolving and I don't think I can lump myself into just one style category.

7. I love to sing, but doing it in front of other people terrifies me. So I am a rock star in my car and the shower basically.

8. I am terrified of birds, rats, clowns, and bicycles.

9. I sometimes pluck my leg hair. Is that weird?

10. I would really love to have a foreign accent so I can seem more interesting than I actually am.

Now, onto what I'm wearing. This is a simple running around town outfit. I could live in dresses/tunics, leggings and boots. Seriously. So I took this white button down dress and threw a magenta blazer over it, added a leopard print infinity scarf and BAM! Instant fun outfit.

Blazer: Forever 21, Dress: H&M, Scarf: Express, Leggings: JC Penney, Boots: Rue 21

This is me giving you all a high-five for making it through this post.

Thanks to Erica again for letting me guest blog. You all have been an attentive audience :)

Thanks so much Kassi! Seriously, her sense of humor cracks me up!

Check out her blog for more outfit posts & a daily dose of laughter :)

Guest Post / Angela from Head to Toe Chic

So while I am out of state for new job training, I have some pretty special blogging buddies that are filling in for me this week. Please make them feel welcome!

Today's special guest is Angela from Head to Toe Chic

Hi everyone! I'm Angela from Head to Toe Chic and I'm so happy to be writing a guest post for Erica today. I've been seeing a lot of pastel colors lately and I couldn't be happier about it. Spring is almost here and pastels are the perfect way to brighten up your outfit without being too bold. If you want to make pastels the main focus of your outfit the Modcloth dress or the ASOS pants are great options. However, if you want to just add a touch of pastels the ASOS bag, the Guardian cap toe shoes (my favorite choice), and the two nail polishes below are perfect. I hope you will stop by my blog and say hello!

1. ASOS
2. Guardian.co.uk
3. Dior and Essie
4. ASOS
5. Modcloth



Thank you so much Angela! Don't pastels get you all excited for sunnier weather?!

Don't forget to check out her blog...I think you'll like it!

Guest Post / Melissa from 20 Going on 80

While I am out of state for new job training, I have some pretty special blogging buddies that will be filling for me this week. Please make them feel welcome!

Today's special guest is Melissa from 20 Going on 80

Hi there! I'm Melissa and I blog over at 20 Going on 80. I'm a twenty-something college student with Grandma-ish hobbies. My blog features recipes, DIY ideas, free printables, and more odds and ends craft projects! I'm excited to be guest posting here on Erica's blog today! 

I don't know about all of you but my bathroom counter is always a wreck. No matter how hard I try my makeup always seems to explode all over the place. Whenever I go back home for breaks/weekends my siblings like to give me a hard time about how I 'destroy' the bathroom counter. And let me tell ya', sharing a bathroom with 5 siblings is NOT an easy task. Haha. So if I can find a easy (and cheap) way to organize my stockpile of makeup then I am all for it.

This is a prime example of how my makeup was organized before (or lack thereof).

So I came up with this idea...to use a bowl and old glass to organize brushes, mascara, and all those odds and ends makeup supplies that we all have laying around. I literally just used a bowl and glass that I didn't use anymore for this project! And then some scraps of scrapbook paper from a previous project!

After gluing the paper onto the bowl and glass, and then gluing the bottom of the glass to the bowl it was done! The glass helps keep all my brushes upright and the bowl is a easy way to throw those odds and ends things into!

I love how easy and compact this is! Total cost: Zero dollars.

And even if you don't have an extra bowl and glass laying around you can easily find some at a dollar store for super cheap!

Thanks again to Erica for having me today! I had a blast creating this project for you! :)

Thank you so much Melissa! What a great (& easy!) way to store our beauty tools!

Check out her blog for more hobbies & projects!

Guest Post / Megan from The Frugalista Diaries

So while I am out of state for new job training, I have some pretty special blogging buddies that are filling in for me this week. Please make them feel welcome!

Today's special guest is Megan from The Frugalista Diaries



Whenever I'm feeling drab the best way for a pick me up is adding a burst of color to what I'm wearing, whether it's a bright new shoe or lip color, sweater or even a scarf, it always gives me a boost of confidence to take on the day.

Don't forget to stop by The Frugalista Diaries to say Hi!

Thank you so much Megan! Isn't her style just amazing?!

Check out her blog...I think you will love it just as much as I do!

Changes + Guest Bloggers

So the time has come to say goodbye to my current job. It's been a long 4.5 years in the accounting field & the job hunt has been strong for about a year now. As of next Friday, I will be saying goodbye to my boss (aka my dad!) and my little desk and getting myself ready for the new job. Am I happy? Yes! Am I a bit sad? Yes! Starting all over again kind of freaks me out but I think this will lead to some good things...

#1 - Working for a small business doesn't have the same growth potential as a larger business/corporation. So for that alone, I am excited because that means there is room to grow, whether that leads to new positions or new locations!

#2 - I will have more than one person around me at all times. I like working solo for the most part but I also like people around me - it provides conversation & a sort of energy you don't get when you work alone for the better part of your day. And bonus! My friend who referred me for the job will be working in the same department, so it will be great to know someone there & not feel so lonely at the beginning.

#3 - A chance to learn something new. This new job is completely foreign to me; I will be working for a health care company on a team that sets doctors up with hospitals for new work contracts, making sure that their credentials & such are ready to go. So while I have no experience in this, I'm looking forward to learning something new & challenging myself.

#4 - I get to make more use of the clothes in my closet...somewhat. So where I am now, the dress code is uber casual. Which sometimes is nice; I don't have really dress to impress anyone since there are no clients to see. But at the same time, it can make me lazy. So I plan to purpose my clothing a bit more now, even though the new job has a pretty casual dress code as well. But I think since I will be surrounded by people all day long, I will feel inclined to make my casual outfits look a little more pretty.

With this new job comes training at their corporate office, out of state. Pretty cool! They will be sending me out for corporate training for one week along with other new hires. This excites me, aside from the fact that I will be apart from my hubby for that long. Boo hoo.

During that time, I don't imagine that I will have much time for blogging because I will be in seminars for most of the day and I want to be able to soak in the training & not think in the back of my mind, "Oh shoot, I need to put together some blogs for this week."

So I am looking for...

GUEST BLOGGERS!

I think this is a great opportunity to have some of my blogging buddies share their posts here while I am out of town, getting my work training on. It gives you (the guest blogger) the chance to connect with my audience here & gives your readers a peek of The Pretty Factor as well! You can share an outfit post, a review, a giveaway...whatever you want, let's come up with some ideas!

If you are interested in being a guest blogger here for the week of February 20-24, please shoot me an email at - theprettyfactorblog@gmail.com

If I get more responses than the allotted 5 days for the week above, I may take you up on your offer because I'm not sure how crazy busy my work schedule will be when I begin!

I would LOVE to work this out!


New items were added yesterday to my shop - check it out!