Weekend Haul: Today, I Discovered Department Stores

Today, I discovered department stores. You read correctly, department stores. Now, before you all think I'm crazy, I know what department stores are, and I have been inside of them before...but today I really discovered what they had to offer (typically, I just go there for one item, like tights, and leave without looking around.)

You see, my husband and I arrived at the mall at 11 a.m. Much to our dismay, we discovered the stores didn't open until noon. So I got a Gingerbread Latte at Starbucks...and then I saw that Macy's was open.

"Why don't we just go to pass the time and look at stuff," I suggested.

So we walked around the nearly empty department store and that's when it hit me. As we browsed around in the dress section, I saw so many gorgeous dresses- from cocktail dresses to evening gowns to work dresses. I couldn't believe my eyes...and the prices were incredible too. And, unlike Forever 21, the dresses there were actually long enough on me to be work appropriate.

I purchased a gorgeous 3/4 sleeve holiday/work dress by Tiana B. It has this pretty detailing on the sleeves and bottom of the dress. I think it's festive, but not too festive for the office. I also like that I can add a belt or some great accessories to spice it up for the evening. It's a great dress to wear to any evening holiday event. I've been looking for a dress like this for a long time, and am happy to have finally found it!

It actually looks nice and fitted when it's on. I especially love the 3/4 sleeves that hit just below my elbows. It was 25% off too!

I also found some gorgeous work dresses there, but I'm going to hold off for now. It's nice to know I have a go-to place for when I need an appropriate-length work dress. I prefer to wear dresses over anything else, so finding ones that are long enough for my 5'10 frame can be a challenge!

With about 30 minutes left until the mall opened, we headed to JC Penny. I bought an adorable dress from Charlotte Ronson's line (also on sale). It has some pretty beading detail at the neck.

It also plunges into a great ruffle "V" shape in the back.

After my department store shopping success, I headed to Forever 21 to return a belt I had ordered online (the studded "Carrie" belt I talked about a few weeks ago- I ordered it in two sizes because I wasn't sure.) I got this pretty argyle sweater. I love how the sleeves have the block of cream, it really makes the sweater looks polished when it's on. You probably can't tell from the photos, but the cream part is actually a bit metallic/shimmery...very holiday appropriate!

I also got this amazing feathered/bejewled headband! It is so fun and pretty! I even plan to bring it on vacation. I like to wear accessories on the beach. Call me crazy but I think it's fun! I have to pull my hair back somehow, why not pull it back with a pretty headband instead of something plain, right!? I recently saw Brody Jenner's girlfriend Jade wear a prett feathered headband with her bikini, and she rocked it. It gave the look a little something extra!



I also got these pretty animal print-esque metallic bracelets. I think they will look amazing with a nice tan and beach hair. Yes, that's right, I also bought these with our vacation in mind.

My final purchase was this pretty leaf/ruffle top from Charlotte Russe. I saw it displayed in the window under a black blazer and I just couldn't resist. Each ruffle leaf is shimmery and has a sort of polka-dot subtle design on it. Very feminine.


I am loving all of the sparkly, shimmery, party-type clothes that are avaialble in stores during the holidays. The holidays bring so much more embellishments and details to clothes. I love that. I tend to stock up on party dresses during the holidays because they are hard to come by in the summer time, when the focus is on bright, flowy dresses.

What did you buy this weekend? Leave me a comment below! We saw New Moon today, and it was really good. I thought it was a little slow in the beginning, but it really developed the characters a bit more in this movie. I'm going to skip reading the second book and just go right to the third, because now I want to know what happens next! Have you seen New Moon yet? Hope everyone had a great weekend!

xoxo,

Veronika.

Fall Haul: Weekend Shopping Report

I've been under the weather this past week and just had to get out of the house today for a few hours so I decided to head to the mall and pick up the MAC "My Favorite Pink" Dazzleglass Cream I have been eying. I suppose this will be my first official "haul" post.

First things first. Because I thought I wasn't leaving the house today at all, I decided to "experiment" with my makeup and used a bright purple MAC shadow to line my lower lid instead of my typical brown. The picture is embarrassingly bad, but I think despite its quality, you can get a good idea of what it looked like.


I haven't had the chance to try on the new MAC Dazzleglass Cream, but I am confident I will love it, since I love all things pink, especially lip glosses.

I also (of course) paid a visit to Forever21, and was sadly very, very disappointed in the stock they have right now. So much so, that all I tried on were 3 cardigans, which is very rare for me (typically, by the time I make it to the fitting room, my arm is so sore I can hardly contain the urge to throw all of the items onto the floor). The store appears to be in a sate of transition right now, not quite summer, not quite fall and a section of neons and plaids that I am very much over. Dear the 80's: please take back your fashions! (though I must admit I don't hate plaid, I just dislike the sheer amount of it plastered in every store I walk past).

I did pick up one darling cardi though, and I am thankful I even found it amongst the disasters on the second floor (basically, all of the stuff that didn't sell over the summer, and with good reason).

Here it is:
and up close...
Basically it is a cropped cardigan that has these gorgeous little flowers on it secured with a little crystal in the center of each flower. When I put it on, it just felt very girly and pretty, and I knew I had to have it.

Other than that, all I bought was a yummy Spiced Cider candle from Bath and Body Works (they are on sale 2/20$ right now so my bestie and I each got one). It is burning in my home right now, and it feels very cozy and reminds me of the holidays.

Because I had little success on my shopping adventure (or lack thereof) today, I will show you a few of my recent favorite finds.

One of them is this pretty key necklace from Forever21 (about $4.50, I believe). It came with both a larger gold key, and a smaller silver one:

I actually used tweezers to attach two chains together to make the necklace longer. I am really loving super long necklaces right now- but I difficult to find good ones that come on a chain long enough to balance my massively long torso, so I use this little trick to make a longer chain.

Then, there is the purse I mentioned last week, that I hadn't yet had a chance to photograph:

It is from Aldo and cost about $60 CND. It is a great size and really lightweight. I definitely think it looks better and more expensive in person, but that will give you an idea of the shape and size.

I'm sorry I don't have many more exciting purchases to report...perhaps in the next few weeks I will find some great items (here's to hoping).

I do have something really exciting coming up on the blog next week (at least I think so). There was a recent thread on The Nest's Fashion & Beauty board that reaffirmed my idea to do this, and I think it is a really positive idea, so look out for that next week!

Thank you so much for reading, I appreciate you all!

xoxo,
Veronika