OOTD: Bright Whites

Today I just have a simple outfit post. I like wearing white in the summer as much as I love wearing black in the winter.  White is so fresh and bright. It just puts me in a good mood when I wear it.  Here's my Club Monaco dress mixed with a brown belt and shoes:

Dress- Club Monaco
Shoes- MaxStudio @ Zappos.com
Belt- Papaya
Cardigan- Express
Bag- Marc by Marc Jacobs Hillier Hobo

Hope you all had a great day!

xoxo,

Veronika.

OOTD (Monday): "That Dress"

Every time I post this dress, I'm reminded of how much I love it. I love the fuller skirt, light yet structured cotton fabric and the buttons that to all the way down the front of the dress (and the fact that I also own it in white.)

I can't believe just two weeks ago I was wearing tights and it was below freezing in Houston and Monday it was 78 degrees.  Definitely a no tights day! Of course I felt the need to self tan and shave my legs.  I can't be lazy about that anymore (darn!)

Dress- Club Monaco
Cardigan- White House, Black Market
Belt- J. Crew
Shoes- Steve Madden RUSSHH

xoxo,

Veronika.

OOTD: Black & White Part Deux

I had a very long day today (worked until 8 tonight) so I wanted to keep it simple with my attire today...and keeping it simple often means resorting to black and white.  I had an important meeting in the morning and last-minute event planning all day so there was no room for fuss with today's ensemble!

Here's what I wore:

Seriously. Need. New. Camera. I already sent out a text of desperation to my tech-savvy kindred spirit of a friend in Toronto to come to my camera-aide!  and THANK-YOU to all of the wonderful ladies who posted camera recommendations in my post yesterday. I am going to do some research and then decide which camera will soon be mine!

Dress- Club Monaco
Belt- J. Crew
Cardigan- Express
Shoes- Michael Kors

...and before I go, I want to address something and then it won't be addressed again. I created my Formspring page so that there would be one place for my most commonly asked questions. I used to just have people email me when they had a question, but Formspring made it easier because the answers are all in one place and can be accessed by anyone.  The problem is the "anyone" part.  I've just decided that I'm no longer going to answer questions that are rude, offensive or too personal.  I just don't have room for that kind of negative energy in my life and I feel like I repeat myself over and over (and over) when I answer these types of questions.  So please note that from now on, all questions of that nature will be deleted. So please, save your time.

Thank you to all of my lovely readers who support this blog and give me the positive energy I need everyday to remain committed and passionate about blogging.  I love you girls!

xoxo,

Veronika.

OOTD: Giraffe City

I don't know that I've ever considered a giraffe print for clothing, but this dress changed my mind. Its pretty coral-colored animal spots have won me over.

Some of you might remember from my weekend shopping post that I got this dress at LOFT for 40% off plus another 15$ off. I always feel even more awesome when I wear something I saved a significant amount of money on!

Dress- LOFT (buy it here)
Cardigan- Charlotte Russe (similar here) (and here)

Shoes- Michael Kors Berkley T Strap
(buy them here)
Belt- Club Monaco
Bag- Michael Kors (similar here)
Watch- Michael Kors (buy it here)

I'm trying to provide more links to the exact items or similar items to what I'm wearing. Is that helpful? I hope so!

I hope you had a wonderful Wednesday!

xoxo,

Veronika.

Ask Me Anything- On Fromspring!
...and you really can ask me anything, but if it's too personal and/or offensive, I probably won't answer it. 

CONTEST WINNER & Some Weekend Shopping...Plus a Perfume Vent

I have to admit I was thrilled when RANDOM.ORG came up with the number "11" out of 169 because it saved me a lot of counting (and re-counting) as I only had to go 11 comments down (yay!)

...and the lucky winner is (and I  LOVE this girl- she is a longtime reader and commenter on my blog- and also has a fabulous blog of her own):

Olivea from The Sweet Life!!!

Congratulations! (isn't the spelling of her name so cute too!? I've always loved it!)

Here is the screen shot from Random.org. I always like to include it to show the drawing was random and fair (click to enlarge). 

Thank you to everyone who entered. I will try to have giveaways more often...maybe my fave product of the month or something. Even if it's something small, I like to spread the product love :)

Today Candice and I went to the mall to use our SEPHORA VIB promo coupons. I could NOT believe that Bare Escentuals was giving away 2 of their mineral eye shadows AND a good quality brush with ANY purchase (there was no amount you had to meet to be eligible.)

I've always wanted to try their shadows but never got around to it. The collection we got was the FOILED EYE one.  The two shadows are gorgeous, shimmery taupe-y neutrals. I swatched them when I got home because I just loved the colors so much. I might use them tonight in my eye look!  

The kit usually retails for $32.00! I feel so lucky that Sephora did this promo with Bare Escentuals because it has definitely made me want to get more of the shadows (I'll see how the wear when I use them, but so far from just swatching, I have a feeling they'll be gorgeous!)

I cannot wait to try them tonight!  I think you can wear them wet for a more metallic look. I'm going to use them dry for a more sheer wash of color (but it might be fun to try them wet as a metallic liner.)

The only other purchase I made today was this pretty skirt from Club Monaco. It originally retailed for $129.00 and I got in on sale for $39.00 (score!!!)

Oh and one more thing...this is what I bought at Sephora to get the VIB deal: Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume roll-on:

When this perfume first came out there was a lot of hype around it and I just didn't care for it...then for some reason I tried some on a couple of weeks ago and I was IN LOVE. I tend to forget to put perfume on in the mornings, so this is nice because I can keep it in my purse. 

I don't like heavy scents and I don't like when people wear too much perfume (in fact, I was recently APPALLED when a woman took a damn FULL SIZE bottle of perfume out of her purse and doused herself in it in the WAITING ROOM at my OBGYN's office.) I wanted to say something to her, but I restrained myself. Some people can have asthma attacks or worse from being exposed to strong perfume sprayed near them (and the room was full of pregnant women who I know can be super sensitive to scents.)

I had a college professor who was deathly allergic to many scents and we were even asked to never wear perfume or other strong scented products to class because her system could go into shock (like epi-pen style.) I know that's pretty rare but I also think it is really against common courtesy and etiquette to whip out your perfume in a doctor's office. It is absolutely unacceptable to me. 

Is there something beauty related that people sometimes do in public that annoys you? The prefume thing is definitely number one on my list. Trying on perfume at the mall, yes. Spraying several sprays of it in a doctor's office...NO. There is a time and place ladies, and it's not at the OBGYN's.

xoxo,

Veronika.

Best Dress: Club Monaco

Today I wore one of my favorite dresses of all time. I actually own it in both white (which I got first) and black because I love it so much.

It's so simple and can be worn so many different ways. The versatility is really the beauty of this dress. It is from Club Monaco and I believe it cost about $170 or so (I had bought it for a job interview I had in NYC so I decided to splurge.) I got the white one for full price and was able to purchase the black one on sale. I don't mind spending more when it's a dress that is so versatile and classic.


The dress can be worn as a v-neck by tucking the top parts in when it's unbuttoned. I usually keep it buttoned up to be more conservative for work events.


I attended an event today called Handbags and Heroes hosted by Heroes for Children which is a nonprofit organization that helps support families who have a child with cancer. It is such an amazing organization and I encourage you to check them out. I think the Club Monaco dress is perfect for an afternoon event. I've also worn it to work functions, my wedding shower etc. I've worn the black one a lot too, even for evening events.

I also have another OOTD from Tuesday that I'll post:

Dress- Charlotte Ronson for JC Penny; Belt- Forever 21; Bow Flats- Target

I switched my nails up too! I went for a hot pink this week. It's OPI's "I'm India-Mood For Love" which is one of my favorite hot pink colors. 2 coats and it's perfect!

Do you have a dress that is just your go-to perfect for any occasion dress? Let me know in the comments below!

xoxo,

Veronika.

OOTD- Wearing Navy & Staying on Track

I always watch (or rather listen) to the Today Show when I get ready for work every morning.

I wake up at 7 or 7:15 a.m., turn on my TV, turn the volume way up and listen to the latest news as I shower, style my hair and apply my makeup (it makes me feel like I'm starting my day knowing the top headlines...plus, I feel totally scared when I'm alone in a completely quiet house.)

In between Today Show reports they show local news and today's weather report indicated that it could get up to 80 degrees! (yay!) I immediately knew this meant NO TIGHTS!

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love tights, but when it starts to get into the mid to high 70's tights can be uncomfortable.

I wore a "new" dress for the first time today. I say "new" because my beautiful friend Kari who lives in NYC (jealous!) gifted it to me when she moved back to NYC from Houston where we worked together.

It's a simple navy blue dress from Banana Republic, and I love it (Thank-You Kari!)

I paired it with a wide belt and military inspired cardi.

Dress- Banana Republic; Belt- Club Monaco; Cardigan- Forever 21; Pumps- Jessica Simpson.

After work today my husband and I took our dog for a walk and then I did some quick leg toning moves from a YouTube video (courtesy of ToneItUpCom) at home. I remembered to take a picture of the black tights from Target that some of ya'll asked me to post over the weekend when I first mentioned them.

They are just plain, black, cotton tights. You can purchase them on Target's website, here. They are really comfy and great for workouts. I do caution though that they aren't 100% opaque so I always wear them with a superlong tank or tee. They aren't see-through or anything, but I just like to be cautious.

I've been feeling much more motivated and energized this week. Even going for a brisk walk helps me stay on track on days where I don't do a full workout.

This Saturday my bestie and I are trying "Hardcore Pilates" which is a Pilates class that uses reformer machines. I'm really excited! It's supposed to be pretty intense, but I'm ready for a challenge!

I'm also feeling much better today about the traffic ticket situation. I'm one of those people (as you can tell) that is completely over-dramatic about things like this. I think it party comes from just being a passionate person and also because I get super upset when I think I've done something wrong (probably a result of my upbringing.) I know we all make mistakes, so I just have to take this in stride and move forward. Thank you to everyone who wrote supportive comments and told me their "first ticket" stories- it really did make me feel better! And just to clarify, I'm 100% aware that I broke a law and thus the result was the ticket, but that also doesn't mean I can't be upset about it. Of course I am! I think it would be weird NOT to get upset about getting a ticket.

Hope everyone has a wonderful evening!

xoxo,

Veronika.

OOTD: Still Wearing Tights

It's still cold in the mornings here (well, let's be honest, I'm always cold, so anything below mid 70's feels freezing to me.) I still have a space heater at my desk and use it daily. Everyone in my office likes different temperatures so I've learned the only way I can be comfortable is by having an awesome space heater. My boss got it for me this winter and I haven't looked back since! I have an AC vent right above my desk and when the AC is on, it blows right towards me so I have to counter-act it. I'm going to be embarrassed if I have to use my heater in the summer, but I'd rather be comfortable!

I've been wearing boring basics all week (black dress pants, simple top and cardigan.) I think last week's shopping trip left me feeling uninspired.

So today I decided to wear a dress and feel cute again. Here is what I wore:

No, my hair is not blonde or lighter, it just photographs that way when my camera is on manual mode :)

Dress- Express; Open Cardigan- Charlotte Russe; Belt- Club Monaco; Necklace- NY LightMetals on Etsy.com; Tights- Target; Shoes- Jessica Simpson; Watch- Michael Kors.

I felt cute in this outfit. I needed an end-of-the-week pick me up. This did the job! I know it's boring black, but I think the way it's styled made it a bit more interesting. I really do need to step up the colors for spring though.

Does what you wear affect your mood? I find that when I make an effort, I always feel better and more upbeat that day. How about you?

xoxo,

Veronika.

OOTD Friday: Day & Night Looks

I just got back from a delicious dinner with my husband and some friends. I had my yearly review at work today so we went out to celebrate :)

I'm writing this pretty late at night, so if I make any mistakes, you'll know why! I am exhausted but I have some plans during the day tomorrow so I wanted to blog this since I'd be out all day.

Here's what I wore to work today. I usually wear jeans on Fridays but I had a client meeting today so I wore dress pants.

Polka-dot top- Club Monaco; Sweater- Forever 21; Pants- Express Editors; Belt- Forever 21; Shoes- Aldo.

I finally broke out the Paris Hilton Senorita Bow pumps tonight for dinner. They are too cute! I kept looking down at them because they are just so adorable! They make me smile :)

Here's what I wore to dinner:

Jeans- GAP "always skinny destroyed"; Shoes- Paris Hilton Senorita Bow Pumps; Top- VS PINK dress worn as top (I rolled it up because it was way long); Jacket- White House Black Market.

For makeup, I just played up my eyes a bit and used a light pink gloss (MAC's "BabySparks" Dazzleglass, which is my all-time fave gloss.)

I used MAC's retrospeck eyeshadow on my lid, Benefit's "Eye Bright" on the inner corners, and MAC's "satin taupe" as a liner (with Bobbi Brown "black mauve" eyeliner tightlined on top and bottom lashes.) I used my tried and true L'Oreal Volume Collagen mascara on lashes after curling them.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you had a wonderful of a Friday as I did!

xoxo,

Veronika.