Weekend Shopping: Hunter Boots, Nordstrom Rack, Sephora & Banana Republic

I'm sipping a cup of mint tea after a long day of shopping with my H.  We had an awesome day together---breakfast and lattes at Starbucks, shopping and then a late lunch/early dinner at Chuy's (a Mexican food place in our area.)

Our shopping began at Nordstrom Rack so I could use our $50 Groupon.

I got a dress by Andrew Marc.  I think it was originally about $148 and I got it for $49.  I really like the way it fits and it's great for work because it hits just above my knee.

I also picked up a black lace-trim slip by SPANX!  If you ever need SPANX, Nordstrom Rack is the way to go---the slip was just $33 there!

It's nice to wear shapewear under fitted skirts and dresses---it really smooths everything out. I also love the lace trim because I remember seeing Lauren Conrad having a black lace slip sticking out of a black dress she wore in her new style book.  I just thought it was such a cute look with a little vintage flair to it.

I never wore slips before this year---I needed to buy a nude one this past summer for some of my white dresses. I now feel that they are essential for certain skirts and dresses so I'm glad to own a black one.

Next, we went to OLD NAVY and I returned that gray fairisle print sweater that I bought a few weeks ago.  I thought it was very cute but I just never wore it so I felt like it was pointless for it to be sitting in my closet like that.

After those trips we headed to the Galleria mall.  Banana Republic was having a 25% off of everything sale so I picked up this adorable skirt.  It is SO flattering on.  It just sits like no other skirt I own.  It's from their heritage collection. I got a size 6 in this one---the 4 fit but was a bit snug---I would say to size up on this one---but it could just be my hips---if you're not hippy, stay with your regular size.

I know it doesn't look like much on the hanger---but I promise when you put it on it's just lovely!

Next up, I got another bottle of the Phyto Relaxing Balm at Sephora using my coupon. This is one of my HG hair products!

We also hit up Nordstrom where I returned a MAC blush I bought.  It's called "pink swoon" and it's apparently the blush Kim Kardashian uses.  Honestly, I didn't love it.  I think MAC blushes in general tend not to impress me. The only one I use/like is "Well Dressed."  I just find MAC blushes not to be that pigmented and the colors just seem to not work for me as much.  My favorite blush is definitely Bobbi Brown.

I don't know if I had mentioned this before, but I had to get a new pair of my Jessica Simpson boots because they had a rip in the back after wearing them less than 10 times.  Basically the back seam just ripped open.  Nordstrom was awesome and gave me a completely new pair. I wore them today to "break them in" again and let me tell you, that may have not been the best idea because my feet were killing me after a couple of hours. 

Luckily, I decided to try on the Hunter High Gloss Black Boots while I was at Nordstrom and I ended up loving them so much that I bought them---and wore them out of the store!  I am definitely going to bring these to Paris.  They are SO comfy.  I realized today that I didn't have any waterproof boots which is not good since it's so cold and snowy and wet sometimes in Europe.  So I took the plunge and got them.  It rains a lot in Houston so I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of them.

and on me...

Remember ladies---you have to size down in these. I wear a 10 and had to get a 9 in these and they are perfect!  I think they are so cute!  I plan to wear big wooly socks with them to keep my feet warm.  When I was at Nordstrom I ended up chatting with another customer and she told me she just got back from Paris and it's really really cold there---she told me she actually wore her UGGS the entire time so I'm definitely going to bring mine!

Lastly, I picked up these Turbie Twist hair towels at Bed, Bath & Beyond.  I heard they dry your hair way better than normal towels so I'm excited to try them---maybe it will cut down blow-drying time (I can only hope!)

Did you buy anything today?  Let me know in the comments below!

xoxo,

Veronika.

Weekend Haul (Oh Yes, It's a Haul)!!!

My feet are still burning.  Oh yes ladies, I shopped for a solid 6 hours today with my husband.  Bless his heart, he was such a trooper.  We started off at the Galleria where Kevin got a beautiful coat from Zara for our trip to Paris. It's a very nice, long, black wool jacket that's heavy enough for winter.  It's gorgeous!  He also picked up some jeans and a pair of TOMS shoes.  Guys are always so easy. 

I did an unexpectedly large amount of shopping today.  Most of you ladies know that I only shop when there's a deal going on and when I truly love something...and oh were there deals today!!!!

Let's start off with my shopping ensemble.  I finally broke out the JS boots and they were admittedly very comfortable for the first few hours. By the end of the day the balls of my feet were burning...BURNING!  I'm going to add some gel insoles like I do with most of my shoes. I do love these boots so much though.

Tee- Love Culture
Tights- Lulu Lemon Wunder Under Pintuck tights
Boots- Jessica Simpson Collection
Zip-Up- Lulu Lemon

Now onto the shopping!  I am now the proud owner of a gorgeous eyeshadow set from MAC's Tartan collection--- and ladies, this is NOT a collection to pass up.  I try not to get too into all of those collections MAC does because it's easy to go overboard and buy products you don't even need and won't use...but this collection has so many incredible sets that I urge you to check it out.  The packaging is also my favorite packaging MAC has EVER done, and when you see it in person, you'll know why.  The e/s set I got was the brown neutrals one.  The picture simply doesn't do the colors justice. They are gorgeous!  It retails for $36.00:

I just realized I totally forgot to take a picture of the top of the compact.  It's the same blue tartan print of the box and it's velvet and has a gold MAC emblem. It's very high-quality looking.  I almost bought a brush set JUST to get the amazing bag it came with...but I somehow resisted because I didn't need any brushes. I have a feeling this collection's going to go fast.

LOFT was having a 30% off of your entire purchase promo today so of course I just casually stopped in...and I came  out with three absolutely incredible additions to my wardrobe...and one of the items took a trip to another mall!

First up was this navy skirt with silver metallic flecks.  I know I said this earlier, but the picture doesn't do it justice. It looks incredible on.  It's a size 4, was on sale for $39.99 and I got it for 30% off of that.

Next up is a jacket I had to travel for. My LOFT store only had this in a size Extra Small Petite.  It was just too small in the shoulders, but I had to have it. This jacket is probably my favorite thing I got today. It looks absolutely incredible on.  It originally retailed for $148. It was on sale for $59.99 and I got it 30% off of that price.  We ended up driving to Memorial City Mall to pick up the size Small (regular) in the jacket.

The jacket just has so many great details! I can see why it originally had such a hefty retail price.  My final item I got at LOFT was this blouse. They only had a size Large left which turned out to be perfect because I wanted it to have that billowy look.  Believe it or not, I tried all three items I bought on together (with this blouse tucked into the navy skirt and jacket on top) and it looked amazing together. It was really unexpected.  This blouse retails for $54.00 and I got it for 30% off.

I will wear these in an OOTD soon!

Next up are some boots from Charlotte Russe.  BOOTS! Yes, you heard that right.  I have been on the hunt for some flat, cognac-colored boots for our trip and I went to seemingly every shoe store to try some on.  I kept finding boots that were $150-$250 that I didn't love. I thought to myself..."I'm not spending that much money on a pair of boots unless I love them."

So, while checking out the offerings at Charlotte Russe I wandered over to the shoe section where I saw a sign "BUY ONE, GET SECOND FOR $10."  That just couldn't be right.  I asked a sales associate who confirmed that every shoe was in fact, buy one pair, get the second for $10. I was shocked.  Then, I spotted them.  Flat, cognac boots.  At Charlotte Russe. I was hesitant but I tried them on. The felt comfortable and looked nice on.  They retail for $40.  That pretty much sold me since I'll be wearing these to walk around all over the place in winter weather, so I won't be upset if they get roughed up since they are so affordable.

I got the cognac flats and also a black pair with a heel.  The black ones were $10.  I still can't believe it.

 The girl who had no boots, now has three pairs.

I'm happy that my boot hunt has come to and end :) I LOVE boots now, but boy is it hard to find the perfect pair!

I also picked up this fun sequin evening bag at Charlotte Russe. It retailed for $19.50 but all handbags were 30% off.

This bag can really pop against at LBD or all-black outfit.  I just love it. 

Since we had to go to Memorial City to get my LOFT jacket, I was able to stop by Forever 21.  They have a lot of cute stuff right now, but the store was an absolutely clustery mess.  I must admit that the Memorial City store is usually clean and well-organized, but today was definitely an exception. It made it a bit more difficult to shop but I picked up so many great items!  Here we go:

 Tapestry-style scarf, $7.50

Striped open-face sweater $19.80, size Medium

Textured dress/tunic, size Large, $27.50. 
This dress is absolutely gorgeous but I had to size-up because it's so form fitting on the hips and thighs.  I could wear this as a dress if I wore it with black, opaque tights, but it can also be worn as a tunic over skinny jeans.  The texture is just beautiful.  It's really an expensive-looking piece, IMO.

Black and lace top, $15.80, size Medium.

Forever 21 is usually a hit and miss for me.  As in, there are a lot of misses, but when there are hits, the hits are pretty good.  I am really happy with the items I got there today. Can't wait to wear them! If you can find that striped sweater, I highly recommend it. It's just beautiful on.

OK, I swear I'm at the end now.  I also picked up this beautiful sweater by Kensie at Nordstrom Rack- they have lots left, Houston girls!  I got a size small. It was originally $88 and the Rack price was $39.50.  It looks great on and I can see it being cute belted as well.  It's got a very interesting texture, not like any piece I own. It doesn't look like much in the photo, but it's really a nice piece when worn.

Lastly, I used my Express Cash on this long cardigan. Many of you know that I also own this cardigan in white, the one with the crystal buttons.  It was $49.90 and i got $25 off of that (though, I had to buy a lipgloss because you have to spend $50 before taxes to use the coupon. That kind of upset me, but whatever.)

My sweater collection is great right now because I have a balance of all of the neutral colors now that I've added gray.

We also picked up a few antibacterial hand soaps from Bath & Body Works today. We had a 20% off coupon. They already have a lot of the holiday scents in! YUM!

What did YOU buy this weekend? Please please please make me feel better and tell me about your purchases too (in the comments, below!)

xoxo,

Veronika.