Paris & London Wrap-Up: Observations on Fashion, Makeup & More!

It's only Wednesday night and I already feel like this week has passed me by.  I finally had a chance to review my notes from our trip---they're all just random observations from our travels abroad.  I made sure to document what I was seeing fashion and beauty wise too, because I always notice what people wear, their hair and makeup no matter where I am!

Before we left for our trip, my H's awesome mom and dad gave us this cute "Paris" box. Right now it's full of ticket stubs, tour books and other little things from our trip:

...and my messy, barely-legible notes
(I have the worst writing ever, I should have been a doctor
because I can scribble awesomely like docs do on prescription pads):

My observations of Paris:

• I saw a lot of UGGS, black leather (flat) boots,  and ankle booties
• Everything decor-wise is over the top and luxurious---store windows, streets, displays---it's all beautiful and lavish
• People have a more simple approach to fashion---it was cold so I was obviously seeing people in outerwear, but most of the time people dressed very basically, which surprised me
• The shopping is wonderful---pricey (not as pricey as London) but like I said in my previous entry, I was more of a window shopper abroad
• I didn't notice gyms anywhere---people walk everywhere and take the subway---so people there look pretty fit
• Families dined out together, even later at night, even with young children
• People helped each other park their cars---there is so little parking on the teeny streets that people would actually get out of their cars and help direct someone in a parallel park---it was lovely!
• Most women there don't wear a lot of makeup (if any at all) the girls who did wear makeup favored black liner just on the top lid...I also didn't see a lot of women there who appeared to be wearing a base (foundation)
• I didn't see a lot of women with noticeably styled hair---but like I said, it was winter so a lot of people were wearing hats
• Monoprix is a great little Walgreens type store (but they have clothes too) I bought a lot of candy there!
• Versailles is beautiful---but nothing like the Sofia-Coopola produced film (I mean that the rooms aren't all set up like the sets used for the film) but the outdoor and some indoor shots of Versailles were filmed there so those are accurate
• We walked everywhere---and it was such a great workout and helped me burn tons of calories since I was eating yummy calorie-full foods all day
• Flameful---we ate at McDonalds---yep! So did everyone else. It was sometimes the cheapest and most convenient options between all of the touristy stuff we were doing.  McDonalds are everywhere and they are always PACKED (and not just with tourists!)
• Services takes forever at restaurants. Forever.

My Observations of London:

• Everything is really expensive---like really expensive. I don't get how people afford to buy things there! Even TopShop prices surprised me!
• People are VERY stylish---especially the women. It was like a walking fashion parade on every street. It was awesome.
• The women in London pay a lot of attention to appearance---styled hair, nails always done, makeup, and a great outfit (for the most part)
• A lot of women carry designer bags---I'm used to seeing designer bags here in Houston, but in London it seemed like everyone was carrying one. It was all about designer labels.
• The women there have the longest lashes. Everywhere I went it was like lash fest 2010.  I don't know if they have magical mascaras there or if the lash extension craze is happening---but they were LONG.
• I saw a lot of girls wearing dresses (or even shorts) with tights
• Tons of UGG boots, Hunter boots and heels/booties and other flat boots
• Westminister Abbey is a must-see---I was taken aback and blown away by the entire experience of being there. It was by far the best part of my trip.
• Lots of girls wore hair accessories---headbands with big flowers, bows or sequins and hats
• Some girls, despite the cold wore lightweight blazers over loose tees with leggings or skinny jeans and long necklaces
• People wore scarves---from chunky ones to light ones
• The streets are always busy---especially in the shopping areas, you'd never know the country was in a recession!
• Some girls had noticeable tans---which makes me think spray tans are common there
• The Only Way is Essex ("The Hills" of the UK) is awesomely addicting
• All of the girls I saw were wearing earrings---2 piercings in the ears are still popular there (2 holes in each ear)
• Overall, the women weren't afraid to be bold with their fashion and accessory choices and it made for some awesome people-watching
• Services takes forever at restaurants. Forever.

As you can probably tell---although we absolutely LOVED Paris, we loved London more.  It's just got this vibe and atmosphere to it that I can't quite define.  My H and I both want to move there!  There's just something about it.

We would love to go back to London since we didn't spend a lot of time there so we can see all of the attractions we missed.  We would definitely aim for a summertime vacation to enjoy the city in the warmer weather.

I know my notes were kind of all over the place but I hope they were a fun read!  I LOVE to people-watch, so London was especially awesome because there was style everywhere you looked.

xoxo,

Veronika.

What I'm Glad I Packed (& What I Wish I Had Packed)

I'm so exhausted that the thought of writing a post about our trip just seems overwhelming right now.  I've got to be honest---I need a vacation after our vacation!

Firstly---I want to thank whoever left me the comment to bring a journal and write down my thoughts about our trip each night.  I forgot to bring the journal, but I used hotel paper to write my notes at night and I am SO thankful I did that because it really did help me remember specific memories and observations. So thank you to whoever suggested that---I HIGHLY recommend jotting down notes when you travel somewhere.  It doesn't have to be a journal entry---mine were all point form notes that were quick and simple. 

Where to start?  Gosh, there's so much to say, so many pictures to share.  I'll have to categorize my posts because there's just too much to pack into one post.  I will say this though---we had an amazing time in both Paris and London---but we loved London just a bit more and wish we would have budgeted more days there.  Now we have a great excuse to go back!

I thought it might be helpful to write a post on my packing and what I wish I had brought and what I could have lived without.

As you can tell, the Michael Kors jacket that I bought last minute, was an absolutely must-have for the frigid Paris temperatures. Oh, and of course, I always managed to find a Starbucks. It's like a shining beacon of hope in any city. Yep, that's a true Starbucks addict talking right there!

What I'm glad I brought:

• All of my boots---I wore the cognac boots, the Hunter wellies and the UGGS all of the time. I'm thrilled I didn't bring any heels or other shoes because they never would have been worn.
• Black clothes (and lots of them!)  I wore black everyday. It was easy and looked chic at night when we went out for dinner.
• Tights--- I can't be more thankful for Lulu Lemon's wunder under tights---I wore them everyday (layered over 2 pairs of cheaper tights) for the entire Paris portion of the trip. I loved that because they are so stretchy and comfy I never felt uncomfortable when we walked ALL DAY long.
• My own soap---I know it sounds silly, but I use Dove sensitive skin bar soap and love it---it doesn't irritate my skin and I'm glad we brought a bar to use on our trip.
• Velcro rollers--- believe it or not ladies, I didn't bring a flat iron, curling iron OR a hairdryer on our trip. I took my chances and was blessed with a glorious hair dryer in my hotel room that was almost as good as the one I have at home (almost).  I just did a blowout with my round brush, set my hair in velcro rollers as usual, and voi-la, my hair was pretty decent (uh, except when I wore a hat all day and my hair got massive knots in it). 
• My GAP skinny jeans---those were my London staples---wore them everyday we were there.

What I wish I had brought:

• Mousse. I cannot emphasize this enough. Mousse mousse mousse.  I didn't pack mousse because I was all "ohhh I won't need it I'll just do a blowout without it."  Here's a little secret ladies---it turns out, mousse it a key ingredient to keeping your hair from gettting greasy.  Let me explain. I always use mousse before a blowout.  It helps to create volume at the root and gives hair a little hold. I only apply it to my roots.  So in Paris I didn't use mousse and the next day my hair was already limp and greasy. It was like I had different hair or something. It was odd. Let's just say I bought some mousse at a drugstore the next day.  It's a must-have for my hair type.
• Nail polish/remover. I know this sounds awful, but my nails just go so gross on this trip and I wish I could have just repainted them and cut them and stuff. It was okay though because I always wore gloves. Nail polish was super pricey in Paris so I just passed (yep, even the drugstore stuff was like $6.50 euro minimum)
• A hairdryer---our London hotel for some odd reason didn't have a hairdyrer---it was no biggie because I didn't have to wash my hair there (I washed it the night before we traveled there) but I hated not being able to heat my eyelash curler like usual (yes, I know).

What I packed and didn't need at all:

• Dressy clothes---I didn't wear any of my dressy clothes, including the blazer I thought would be a go-to item... I rocked the black Target tunic sweater everywhere---it was chic and worked for both day and night.

I hope that's helpful.  Overall I was happy with what I packed and I have to be honest and just admit that I re-wore a lot of my clothes (I layered clean tees and tanks underneath sweaters I wore more often). 

I was underwhelmed at the way people dressed in Paris. I think I had it all built up in my mind that it was going to be a fashion show everywhere I looked.  When it comes to fashion---the girls in London take the cake.  London was like a fashion show everywhere I looked, and it was incredible.  More on that in a coming entry.

I'll leave you with some additional pics from our trip:

I was always always always bundled up!

The view from our hotel room and our hot pink modern Paris hotel room
(a coincidence, I swear!)

That's all I've got for now...more to come, of course!  I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday and that everyone's 2011 is off to an amazing start!

xoxo,

Veronika.

Parisian Pretty

Everything is so beautiful here---the Parisians really focus on making everything as pretty as possible.  Their malls are incredible. For me, seeing the mall decor, store windows and the general interiors of the malls was more exciting than the shopping itself (because uh, everything is super pricey here).

(click to enlarge)

The decor in Paris really does remind me of the movie "Marie Antoinette" from 2006 directed by Sofia Coppola.  It's really all about pastels and brights, bows and ribbons, embellishments and textures---everywhere you look, it's another visual delight. There's so much pretty here it makes everywhere else seem kind of boring in comparison. I've never seen such creative, beautiful and cute store windows before---I have pictures of those too that I'll share later.

Hope everyone had the best holidays! I have so much to share from our Paris trip...can't wait!  We leave for London Wednesday morning so we're very excited for that too. 

xoxo,

Veronika.

Getting to the Bottom of Things: Eiffel Tower Tour

Can you guess where we went today?

It was dry out and so sunny and clear---the perfect day to visit the Eiffel Tower---but we were disappointed to learn that we couldn't go to the top level, it was closed because of wind. We also visited Notre Dame today and walked around the city for hours...and ate crepes!
As you can see, I wore the cognac boots today. BIG thank you to everyone who told me to bring them---I am so glad I did because I started to get some serious knee paint after dinner last night.  It makes it really difficult for me to go down stairs.  Like super painful---I've never had knee pain before, ever. The Hunters are very comfy but they are a heavier less flexible style boot so I opted for my lighter Nine West boots.  I still get the pain after about 5-7 hours of walking, but I'm just trying to elevate my knees at night and take some painkillers.

I saw another girl wearing the exact same Hunters I wore the other day and I wanted to yell to her "don't wear those all day---your feet will feel fine but your knees will feel brutal!"

I'm also seeing A LOT of UGGS here.  Everyone is dressing for comfort because it's freezing---I haven't seen anyone really dressed up anywhere.  I've been loving my Lulu Lemon leggings---I layer 2 other pairs under them and can't imagine a comfier way to walk around all day. 

I also wanted to thank the person who told me about La Roche Posay being sold here---I went to a pharmacy today and sure enough they had the entire line of products and they were way cheaper here, even with the exchange.

We are having a blast here---tomorrow we head o Versailles! Can't wait :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

xoxo,

Veronika.

It's Been Awhile: My Trip to Slovakia

I know it's only been about 5 days, but it feels like forever since I've written here.

I am back from Slovakia, safe and sound with a little jet lag and a lot of lower back pain (I'll explain that later.)

My trip was nice, even under the sad circumstances.  It was so great to see my family members that I hadn't seen in about 18 years.  The last time many of us saw each other in person was when I was nine years old.  It was great to see everyone as adults and just reconnect.

My grandmother's funeral was really beautiful and a wonderful tribute to her life.  Everyone constantly talked about her beautiful, bright smile. That's how I remember her.  To be honest with you all, I still don't believe she's actually gone.  They had a viewing for family before the actual ceremony and I didn't go. I want to remember her alive, radiant and happy (the way I've always known her.)  Even as the closed casket was right in front of us at the funeral, I just didn't believe she was in there.  It's like I know she's gone, but I believe that she's still with me.  I don't know if that makes sense.

There were SO many flowers at the funeral. Gorgeous flowers. And so many people who loved her. She really did touch a lot of lives---even some of her students were there (she was a professor). I'm just really happy I got to be there with my family at a time where it was important for all of us to come together.

Here are a few shots of various family members and I:

and some pictures of the amazingly gorgeous historical buildings in Bratislava

So beautiful, huh? I just love seeing architecture like that.

On my last day in Slovakia I got to go horseback riding with my Godfather (who uh, doesn't believe in God).  It was so awesome and I feel lucky to have spent the time with him. He's a cool guy.  He has two horses so we each rode one. I think the last time I was on a horse was when I was 12 years old at Girl Guide camp.  We didn't go fast (thank God!) just a nice, long walk. That's where the back pain comes in. My Godfather warned me to keep my back loose but I guess I stiffened up a bit and that, combined with 12 hours on a plane gave me some pretty icky pain in my lower left back.

Behold my fashionable attire (obviously sarcastic):

Oh yes people!  I was full on pushing the lines of fashion. I was in Sahara (one of the horse's) stables brushing her to get the dirt off (yes, really!!!) and my Godfather was like "you have dirt on your forehead." I was totally roughing it people. Roughing it! On a FARM!

I also saw my uncle who's an artist---he's incredibly talented...and look what he made years and years ago:

Yes indeed, that's me as a baby! Look at that cute little chubby-ness.  My uncle apparently used to take me and just sculpt while I laid there as his model. Hehe. This particular piece was at my grandmother's sisters house where I stayed.  My mom also has a sculpture of my head that my uncle made at her house.

Before I go for the night, thank you again to all of the awesome people who sent emails, messages and formspring comments with your condolences and support. It really helped me get through this tough time. Thanks for being patient while I took this time to be with family <3.

xoxo,

Veronika.