Updating Your Bedroom For Spring: Our New Brocade Home Duvet

We got our gorgeous Butternut Moroccan duvet cover and pillows from Brocade Home

recently and I'm, just now getting a change to show them to you ladies!

They are so pretty and I wanted to bring a touch of spring into our home and I think the butternut color of the pattern on these sheets against the bright white background does the trick.  I also added new euro size pillows from West Elm.  The shams I got are these ones.

Welcome to our bedroom:

Bed Frame and Headboard- West Elm
Dresser- IKEA

What do you think of our new sheets?

xoxo,

Veronika.

Spring Fever: New Sheets & Home Accents

Most of the ladies around the country can relate---it's FREEZING outside.  My deepest sympathies to everyone dealing with the awful snow outside right now. Ick!  I kind of hope the weather stays chilly for the weekend because H and I are continuing with our mission to organize the house and this weekend we're tacking the storage closet.

As some of you know, we would like to put our home on the market sometime this year.  I'm really working hard on refining our home, re-organizing, de-cluttering and donating things we no longer use.  In this market, it's so important to have a clean, organized home and it doesn't hurt if its got a little style either (gotta stand apart from the competition, right?)

My goal is to have very clean and spa-like bathrooms, warm and cozy bedrooms and a clean and modern kitchen/living room area. 

One change I've made recently is switching out my soap dispensers. It sounds like such a small thing (and it is) but it can make a big impact.

 (All from Bed, Bath and Beyond)

I think it just looks so much cleaner than a bottle of Dove dish soap. It's also a lot cheaper---we used to buy bath and body works soaps for all of our bathrooms and kitchen. I always buy them on sale, but it adds up.  I like the look of the clear soap- simple, clean, easy.

I decided I wanted to bring a little more brightness to our master bedroom, so when I saw this beautiful duvet cover and pillows on sale at Brocade Home, I had to have them for our bed:

butternut moroccan sham

butternut moroccan duvet 

I also got these nifty Euro shams from West Elm to go with the Brocade set
(I like to mix patterns in the same color family): 
Organic Carved Circles Sham

I can't wait for the duvet cover and pillows to arrive!  I really love the look of gray and yellow together.  Brocade also has this gorgeous purple set, but I decided we already have a ton or purple in our living room so it was nice to mix it up and make it a little "sunnier" in the bedroom.

I really look forward to sharing my continued home progress with you ladies!  I always find myself wanting to clean and redecorate as we near closer to spring!

xoxo,

Veronika.

Weekend Wrap-Up & New Tiled Capiz Table Lamp from West Elm

I was kind of in a bad mood this weekend.  It all started when on Saturday after Pilates class I walked to my car and saw that someone had left their poor barking little dog in the car for the entire class. They had ONE window cracked and the dog was barking incessantly (what dog likes to be left in the car alone after all.)  It just really made me sad that people who are pet owners do this.  Why couldn't they just leave the dog at home like a proper dog owner?  Saturday was a cooler than usual day in Houston but it still got into the 80's.  I am just very adamantly against people leaving their dogs in the car in any temperature (especially hot weather.) I just feel like anyone who does that doesn't deserve to have a pet.  You wouldn't leave your child in the car intentionally...so why your dog?  I talked to the management of the Pilates studio about it and we left a note on the car that says "not safe for dog" but I still felt enraged and very upset...I am still upset about it right now.  I just cannot understand why people think their hot cars are better for their pets than just leaving them at home.  The dog was clearly upset/anxious jumping around in the car and barking nonstop.  I planned to stay until the person got into their car but the owner told me that all of the classes were done that morning so the person was going to leave in the next 5 minutes.  I wish I would have had the guts to confront the person...leaving your dog in the car for an hour is just NOT OK.  It's just not.

Sorry for my vent there...I'm just really passionate about pet safety.

On Friday, Candice and I attended the "Night in Spain" fashion show at Lakewood Church featuring clothes from Dillard's.  I am working with the producer of the show on another event and I just have to say the styling was amazing!!!  I was so impressed with how him and his team weaved the Spanish theme through the show-even the music was incredible.  I was also really impressed with the brands and styles offered by Dillard's. I had no idea they have so many cute dresses for both work and play. I am definitely going to have to check the store out more often. 

The show featured a bunch of local TV personalities like Melissa Wilson, Deoborah Duncan, Dominique Sachse and many more.  After the show it was announced that Dr. Robert Rey from the popular television show Dr. 90210 was there. How random!  He was really nice and signed autographs for people and talked to some fans. I wasn't able to get a good picture on my iPhone but here he is with Victoria Osteen (who is absolutely gorgeous by the way...her skin is flawless and her hair is incredible.)

We didn't get a chance to say hello but it was such a great event and fabulous show- plus all proceeds benefited Victoria Osteen's Child Literacy charity.  I wore my JPG for Target dress with my WHBM cardigan over it:

 

A lot of people request for me to post more casual outfit photos! I basically lived in my Pilates clothes this weekend.  Here's what I wore:

How cute is my little bow headband!?  I always wear little bow headbands to keep my hair back.  They are cute and get the job done. The tights are LuluLemon's Wunder Under Pinktuck tights and the tee is a cheapie from Forever21. 

Today H and I realized that we still had design dollars from West Elm that we had to use by October 15th.  We visited the store this afternoon and I finally got a lamp for our desk in our living room.  I am so glad I found this lamp, it's really gorgeous! It's called the Tiled Capiz Table Lamp.  We paid under $100 for it with our design dollars!

Here it is on our desk:

Yay! A finishing touch to the desk :)

I still have A LOT of cleaning to do today so I'm going to relax a bit before I get to it

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

xoxo,

Veronika.

The Best Birthday Present: A New Bed from West Elm

Last night my husband and I disassembled our old bed and slept on our boxspring and mattress. It was the best sleep I've had in awhile...I was probably super exhausted from pool days and birthday celebrations.

We picked up our new bed today and though our room makeover is not 100% complete, the result is beautiful. I can't wait to show it to you (thanks for helping us pick up our bed in your truck, Todd!)

Here's what we got for the room:

1. West Elm Diamond Tufted Headboard (otter)

2. West Elm Wood Bed Frame (white)

3. West Elm Rope Circles Decorative Satin Pillow (these are from the same line we used on our couch)

4.  West Elm White Lacquer Tray (I used this to display and hold my jewelry)

5. West Elm Parachute Duvet Cover (white)

6. Dark Gray Bed Sheets from Target

7. Z Gallerie Silver Dollar Floral accents (I need to get more of these, I'm obsessed! They are only $2.95 a stem!)

Here's what our bedroom looked like before (the old bed frame was from JC Penny- it's a replica of a Pottery Barn bed, I believe.)

 Now to the AFTER photos:

 Phew! That's a lot of pictures (you can click to enlarge if you want to see more detail.)

I really love the new bed and we are both thrilled to have gotten rid of the foot board! Can't wait to sleep in it tonight :)

I'd still love to add a few accents to our bedroom including mirrored side tables, a large mirror above the dresser and other little touches, but those will all come with time :)

I was iffy about the duvet cover we bought, but I absolutely LOVE it. Once it was on the bed I just felt it was perfection. I wanted white, but I also wanted something with texture so it would be a little more interesting.  I knew the guy from West Elm was right! He was also the one who encouraged me to go with the white bed frame when others told me to go with the dark brown. I am SO happy we got the white. It's modern, fresh and adds brightness to the room.

I chose darker bed sheets because I like the way it contrasts with the white duvet. I also like how the dark gray bedsheets match the headboard. I think it all balances out beautifully.

Overall, I just love the direction our bedroom is going in. It was the most neglected room of our home and I'm just really happy we finally made our room more "us."  It just feels clean and fresh and airy now. More elegant too.  When we first moved into our home, we couldn't afford to get new everything right away, so we started with things we had before and bought some inexpensive furniture. Now, 3 years later, we are finally on our way to having the home we always hoped for. 

I really feel like the way your home looks can affect your happiness levels. I love coming home everyday and seeing things I love and having a serene and relaxing room to sleep in. I'm a very visual and detail-oriented person, so every little touch of decor makes a difference to me. 

Thank you so much for reading and thank you to my lovely husband for such an amazing birthday present! <3

xoxo,

Veronika.

Ask Me Anything- On Formspring! 

I Think We Found A Bed, NOTD and Banana Republic 25% Off Sale

Today my husband and I went out to run a few errands. We ended up visiting West Elm because we wanted to strategize on how we wanted to spend the design dollars we earned when we bought our Tillary sofa.

We've pretty much decided on their new "Diamond Tufted Headboard" in the color "otter" (once again gray- the perfect neutral.)  I'm going to do all white sheets with it for a pop of brightness.  This is what it looks like (I like it better in person but it's an idea of what it's like.)

I've searched far and wide for a bed on so many furniture store websites, and unfortunately, most stores sell extremely traditional style furniture (which just doesn't appeal to me) or beds that look like they belong in an Italian castle (or, in Teresa's house from the Real Housewives of New Jersey.)

I'm excited to get a new bed because right now I don't love the style of ours and I hate having a foot board (we bought it quickly when we first moved in just to have a bed frame).  The foot board blocks our view of the TV and overall just bugs me.  I did see some beds I liked from High Fashion Home, but they were also High Fashion prices (like $1,600, eek!)

I will report back when we actually order the bed. I think it will make for a zen-like feel to our room which right now I don't really like. It's definitely the most neglected room of the house, decor wise.

During our travels today, I picked up this lovely skirt from Banana Republic (all full-priced items were 25% off.) Then, I got a coupon to use at BR that's one full priced item for 40% off every Wednesday for the next 4 weeks. Awesome.

Here it is, it all of its loveliness (and by the way, it doesn't look that horribly wrinkled when it's on)

The little tie at the front can be pulled back too so the front of the skirt is plain. I don't own a white skirt (other than my cream lace one from Forever21, so I'm excited about this one for summer!)

I definitely look forward to getting some pieces from BR at 40% off for the next few Wednesdays.  What a great deal!

Lastly, I wanted to share with you a recent nail polish combo that I've been loving. I love really light pink opaque nails. Lately I've been doing two coats of Essie's "Marshmallow" or OPI's "Funny Bunny" and then putting two coats of Essie's "Minimalistic" or OPI's "Sweetheart" or "Bubble Bath" on top (and of course a coat of Seche Vite Topcoat.)

Here's what it looks like (this is with "funny bunny" and "minimalistic")

I like the way it elongates fingers and just looks really neutral. Plus, you can't tell as much if you get a chip in your polish.  

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

xoxo,

Veronika.