Entertainment
A Week of Outfits: Laura Tully
“To me, a good outfit is one I don’t have to think about too much,” says Laura Tully, a personal wardrobe stylist who lives in Boise, Idaho, with her husband and three kids. Her ethos — for herself and her clients — is that your wardrobe should serve your life right now. “Style is about caring for yourself in the season you’re in,” she says, “not chasing the hope that one day you’ll be this person or that person.” Here, Laura shares five outfits she wore in a week…
Jacket: H&M. T-shirt: Leset. Jeans: Citizens of Humanity. Belt: Old Navy. Sneakers: Reebok. Baseball cap: Clare V. Earrings: Gorjana.
“I have tried a million white T-shirts, and Leset is by far my favorite. They’re slightly cropped, but I’m 5’9 and I can still raise the roof in these tees without worrying about my bra showing. What I love is that they always come through the wash in good condition and still looking white.”
“I know people love accessories, and so do I, but dressing yourself is like cooking, where sometimes a really good meal has just five ingredients. This barn jacket is like a chunk of really good Parm that you keep in the fridge and use over and over until it’s down to a tiny nub.”
Blazer: Eaves. Jeans: Citizens of Humanity. Shoes: similar.
“I wear this outfit to work meetings. The jeans are super comfortable, which is important to me. I have a three-year-old daughter, a six-year-old son, and a twenty-year-old stepdaughter. I work in and out of the house, and one day I’m crushing it, and the next day I’m like, ‘That could’ve gone better.’ So, I want clothes that don’t require management, because I’m already managing plenty of other things.”
“I’m also really practical when it comes to makeup. I stick to two lip colors: MAC lip pencil in Chicory, which is a warm nutmeg, and if I want more depth, I’ll layer it with the Ilia crayon in Gala, a hydrating dark rose.”
Denim shirt: Madewell, similar. Dress: Bardot, similar.
“For date nights, this dress initially felt a little bit out of the box, since I don’t wear a lot of prints. But now I wear it everywhere! It also has pockets, which I think is just proper math when it comes to skirts and dresses.”
“I grew up in Jamaica. My dad was a shoemaker, and my mom had several jobs, including seamstress work. We had very little means, but my parents instilled in me the idea that, regardless of money, you can be intentional about the clothes that you put on your body. And that can be just as important as the words that come out of your mouth.”
Jacket: Anine Bing, similar. Shirt: Ralph Lauren. Jeans: Citizens of Humanity. Sneakers: Reebok. Earrings: Gorjana.
“I’m in jeans 90% of the time, and I like cuffing or creasing them so it doesn’t feel like I’m wearing the same thing over and over. The key is having denim with a good amount of weight. The higher the cotton percentage, the easier it is to make it look sharp.”
“With my ‘professional’ jeans, I take them to the dry cleaner for what’s called a wet press or cowboy press, which is basically super-heavy starching. Then I bring them home, cuff them, and put a book on top of them for a day. After that, I can wear them for weeks, and they’ll still look crisp and polished.”
Top: H&M, similar. Skirt: Rails. Purse: Saint Laurent. Sneakers: Converse.
“Cute sneakers are my love language. They’re comfy, of course, and sneakers can decompress an outfit, in a good way, you know? When you feel like, ‘This work outfit may be too stuffy,’ throwing on cute sneaks adds something personable that invites other people to let their guard down.”
“Before kids, I had this vision of myself as having it all together. And I hear it all the time from other moms: ‘I just want to feel pulled together.’ I think that phrase can sometimes translate to this ideal Pinterest-board version of your life, and that’s not really going to serve you. You’re always going to feel like, ‘Ugh, I’m not there yet.’ My approach with style is, ‘What’s going on here? What do we need now?’”
Thank you so much, Laura!
P.S. More weeks of outfits, including a New England grandmother and an afrofuturist in Detroit.
(Photos by Maggie Grace for Cup of Jo.)
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Entertainment
Check out some of the best deals under $25 available to buy ahead of Amazons Big Spring Sale
Best early deals under $25 ahead of Amazon’s Big Spring Sale
The countdown to Amazon’s Big Spring Sale has begun, and while it doesn’t officially start until March 25, there’s already quite a few early deals worth checking out at the retailer. If you’re not looking to drop a ton of cash during this seasonal sale event, we’ve gathered up some excellent deals under $25 that you can shop right now.
These range from the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, if you’re looking to upgrade your streaming setup this year, to some sweet Lego sets, including the delightfully colorful Lego Botanicals Petite Sunny Bouquet, but there’s much more to explore. As the Big Spring Sale gets closer, we’ll be sure to update this with even more discounts that cross our radar, too.
Mashable Deals
Note: You don’t need to be a Prime member to shop the sale, but Prime members will receive exclusive deals on a variety of items.
Best early Amazon device deal
$24.99
at Amazon
$49.99
Save $25.00
Why we like it
2026 has started off strong when it comes to what’s available to stream, and if you’ve been looking to upgrade your setup to enjoy it all in 4K, the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus is worth a look. At the moment, this streaming stick has returned to its lowest-ever price of $24.99 at Amazon, which is 50% off its list price of $49.99. It’s a pretty excellent price to pay for what you’re getting.
The Fire TV Stick 4K Plus supports 4K Ultra HD picture quality, which helps bring out the colors and crisp details in the shows and films you watch. It also supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and Dolby Atmos audio, which provide a little extra boost to picture and sound as well. And with support for Wi-Fi 6, you’ll get to enjoy smooth streaming quality. If it sounds like the streaming package you’ve been searching for, this early deal at Amazon is well worth jumping on.
More early Amazon device deals
Best early Lego deal
$23.99
at Amazon
$29.99
Save $6
Why we like it
The Lego Botanicals Petite Sunny Bouquet is a lovely little set to have up on display this spring, and what better time to grab it than while it’s on sale? At the moment, Amazon has knocked the price of this 373-piece set down to $23.99, allowing you to save a few dollars off its list price of $29.99. If its caught your eye, this is a great time to grab it and piece together a pretty bouquet to have up during the warmer months ahead.
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More early Lego deals
Best early Bluetooth tracker deal
$14.99
at Amazon
$27.99
Save $13.00
Why we like it
Want a better way to keep an eye on items like your wallet, keys, or bags? It’s worth looking into a Bluetooth tracker, like the Life360 Tile. This helpful little device can be attached to a wide variety of items so you can easily track them if they escape your eyesight. If it sounds like something you need, Amazon’s dropped their price for a limited time to just $14.99 ahead of the Big Spring Sale.
Usually they’re listed for $27.99, so this deal saves you 46% overall. Plus, a variety of different colors have been discounted to this price, so you can pick out the option that best suits you.
More early deals under $25
Entertainment
The Channing Tatum Action Movie That Blew Away The Competition
By Phillip Moyer
| Updated
White House Down stars Channing Tatum as Marine Corps veteran John Cale, who is working as a Capitol Police officer who applied for a job in the Secret Service before getting rejected as unqualified. However, after a paramilitary group seizes the White House, it’s up to Cale to save the president and stop the terrorists from starting a nuclear war.
While not seen as a bad movie, per se, White House Down wasn’t warmly received by critics when it was released in 2013, leaving the film with a 52 percent Tomatometer rating. The film, directed by Independence Day and Moonfall director Roland Emmerich, was praised for the chemistry between Channing Tatum and co-stars Jamie Foxx and Maggie Gyllenhaal, but derided for its overuse of action movie tropes.
Some critics noted the level of self-awareness the movie had, leading them to consider White House Down a parody rather than a straightforward action thriller.
A Box Office Disappointment
Audiences seemed to enjoy the White House Down, with CinemaScore giving the film an A- audience rating. However, those who took to the internet to share their reviews were similarly lukewarm towards the film, as demonstrated by the film’s 62 percent Popcornmeter score.
Regardless of how audiences felt about White House Down, the movie ended up with disappointing box office returns. The film made $205 million worldwide and only $73 million domestically. With a production budget of $150 million, these numbers were probably not enough for the film to break even after marketing and distribution costs are taken into consideration.
Another Film Hurt White House Down’s Chance Of Box Office Success
One thing that probably didn’t help White House Down was the fact that it was released three months after Olympus Has Fallen; another movie about a terrorist attack on the White House. Olympus Has Fallen starred Gerald Butler as a secret service agent tasked with rescuing President Benjamen Asher (played by Aaron Eckhart) after North Korean terrorists take over the White House.
When raw numbers are taken into account Olympus Has Fallen actually performed slightly worse than White House Down. While both films received an A- CinemaScore, Olympus Has Fallen received a 49 percent Tomatometer score and made $170 million at the box office. However, Olympus Has Fallen only cost $70 million to make, making the less-watched film yield a higher financial return.
While White House Down quitely left theaters, never to be heard from again, Olympus has Fallen spawned two sequels, London Has Fallen (2016) and Angel Has Fallen (2019). Neither sequel ended up selling more tickets than White House Down, but each sequel in the Has Fallen film series cost less to produce than the previous film making each entry into the series a box office success.
Channing Tatum’s Career After White House Down
Channing Tatum went on to receive top billing in a wide variety of films after the moderate failure of White House Down.
This includes reprising the role of the undercover cop Jekno in 22 Jump Street, the villainous Jody Domergue in Quentin Tarantinos The Hateful Eight, and the American spy Tequila in Kingsman: The Golden Circle. He also reprised the role of the male stripper Mike Lane in the sequels Magic Mike XXL and Magic Mike’s Last Dance.
Magic Mike’s Last Dance, coincidentally enough, is another poorly-performing movie that has proved its staying power on streaming. The film only made $57 million off of a $45 million budget. However, after being released on Max, the conclusion of Channing Tatum’s stripper trilogy spent several days in the streaming service’s top three films.
While it’s probably far too late for a White House Down sequel to ever materialize, it remains to be seen whether the recent surge in White House Down’s popularity on streaming will lead to Channing Tatum being given more lead roles in straightforward action films.
White House Down is streaming on Paramount+.
Entertainment
Metas VR Metaverse takes one more step into the grave
When Facebook changed its name to Meta a few years ago, the idea was that the VR metaverse would become a huge pillar for the company. I think we can safely say that’s not going to happen.
On its community forums, Meta confirmed that Horizon Worlds, the flagship “hanging out and doing work meetings in VR” app for Quest headsets, will no longer be available in VR after June 15. It’s not going away entirely, as Meta recently reoriented its metaverse efforts toward a Horizon Worlds mobile app. But Mark Zuckerberg’s COVID-era dream of people spending huge portions of their days wearing VR headsets and messing around in Horizon Worlds seems to be dead.
In fairness to Meta, the multi-platform approach to Horizon Worlds isn’t new. It’s been available on mobile and desktop since 2023, and it must be successful enough in the mobile format for Meta to keep supporting and building upon that version of the Horizon Worlds metaverse. But when it was supposed to be a VR system seller, Horizon Worlds was often the subject of mockery online for its underwhelming visual quality, initial lack of legs for avatars, and its reputation as a virtual ghost town.
Mashable Light Speed
Of course, as of right now, that doesn’t mean Meta is giving up on VR. When it announced that Horizon was going mobile earlier this year, Meta reaffirmed its commitment to VR as a format.
“We have a robust roadmap of future VR headsets that will be tailored to different audience segments as the market grows and matures,” Meta said in a press release. “And Meta remains the single biggest investor in the VR industry. Why? Because we believe in VR as a critical technology on the path to the next computing platform.”
The enduring popularity of things like VRChat signals that there is a market for these sorts of virtual hangout spaces, but Zuckerberg’s specific vision of the metaverse just never really took off as intended. At least we got a few memes out of it.
Check out some of the best deals under $25 available to buy ahead of Amazons Big Spring Sale
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