OOTD: A Standout Piece

Do you ever buy something that you think is really cute and then end up wearing it so much that you realize it was one of your best buys of the season?

That's how I feel about this H&M sweater coat. I can only think that my grandma's sweet spirit was shining down on me when I discovered this sweater coat while shopping in Bratislava after her passing. 

I've worn this sweater/coat more often than I ever thought I would. It's warm and so cozy and it's the absolute perfect length for my long limbs.

Sweater Coat- H&M
Belt- J. Crew
Dress Underneath---you can see it in THIS post

Tights- Target
Boots- Jessica Simpson
Bag- Tory Burch Reva Clutch---
love this bag! I just started using it this week. It's really small but I pared down what I carry and honestly, I don't need to carry a ton with me day-to-day. 
Remember my teeny Kate Spade bag? This one's quite a bit larger but it's slim, so you can't over-stuff it.

Do you have a standout item you bought this season?  Let me know what your winter season "best item" has been this year in the comments below!

xoxo,

Veronika.

PS- I know many of you are dealing with the snow and freezingness---so, who's ready for SPRING!?  Me!

PPS-  Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who left such sweet comments and great advice in the post about my upcoming colonoscopy! I will let you all know how it goes. It's in a couple of weeks.

Outfits Times Two & Back to Blogging

Oh...Hello! So nice to see you all on a Wednesday evening!   Monday was just a brutal day for me which is why I didn't blog.  After lunch at work I suddenly got these very sharp pains in my stomach and I was so nauseous and dizzy and just felt hot and cold flashes constantly.  I ended up having to leave work early (in tears) because I was in awful pain (and dry-heaving, ick).  The nausea I could deal with, but the jabbing pains in my stomach were awful. I medicated and the next day I felt a bit better, but to be safe I ate only from the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, apple sauce and toast.)

Tuesday night I had an event for work so I didn't even get home until 10 at night.  So that's why I've been gone!

Having had two days to recover, I got back into my workout routine this morning. It's the first early morning workout I've done...ever.  I woke up at 5:45 a.m. and headed to the gym (sans makeup---a first!) and my friend and I worked with our trainer. The workout was pretty intense today but I must admit it did feel amazing to get the workout done first thing and be able to feel accomplished first thing in the morning. 

I'm definitely going to be doing morning workouts whenever they work with my schedule.  It's not as awful as I thought it would be and it's nice to come home from work and just relax for the rest of the night.

I did have a chance take some OOTD photos for the past 2 days. Here is what I wore to the work event I had on Tuesday evening:

Dress-  Marc by Andrew Marc New York (Nordstrom Rack)
Jacket- LC by Lauren Conrad Lace jacket (Kohl's)
Tights- Hue (Macy's)
Shoes- Jessica Simpson
Necklace- Forever 21

I really love this dress and jacket combo. The jacket was bought for me by my lovely mother in law!  I saw Chloe wearing it a few weeks ago and just loved it!

Today was a chilly day in Houston so I threw on my trusty H&M sweater coat:

Top- Ann Taylor
Sweater Coat- H&M
Pants- Express Editors
Shoes- Aldo
Belt- J.Crew

I hope everyone has had a great week so far! I'm just happy to be back to blogging and my normal routine.

xoxo,

Veronika.

(Black) Friday Shopping: Best Buy, Express, LOFT & Bath & Body Works

I hope everyone had a safe and happy thanksgiving!  Ours was spent with my husband's wonderful parents and my best friend who joined us for a turkey dinner.  Candice even baked an apple pie (from scratch) and it was delicious!  I couldn't have asked for a better thanksgiving.

I was able to get some reading done this weekend. I had read about this book in a few magazines and it peaked my curiosity so I bought it Thursday after work using a 50% off coupon from BORDERS.  It's called "Some Girls: My Life in a Harem" by Jillian Lauren.  It was a really quick read---definitely a page turner.  It's sort of a mixture of her life and what happened both before and after she decided to go to Brunei and live in a harem serving members of the royal family.  The descriptions of her time there are very interesting.  I almost expected it to be more shocking than it was, but it's certainly a great read and takes you into a world 99.9% of the population will never experience.  Candice is already next in line to read it!

So...I went Black Friday shopping. I had planned JUST to go to Best Buy but then I got all of those emails from all of the stores I shop at and when you see 40% OFF OF EVERYTHING IN THE ENTIRE STORE(!!!!!!!!!!)...well, that's kind of hard to ignore ("think of the money I'm saving!" I exclaimed proudly--- as my H rolled his eyes.)

Many of you ladies will be excited to learn that I finally took the plunge and invested in a good camera.  I purchased the Canon Rebel T2i!!! I am beyond excited!  This means better photos on the blog which I'm thrilled about. I also purchased a camera remote so I can take multiple frames using a tripod.  Very exciting! Finally, I purchased a DVD that's all about how to use the specific model I bought because honestly, I have no idea how to use it outside of automatic mode (haven't even taken it out of the box yet) and I'd love to learn to use it how it's meant to be used and learn about things like white balance and aperture.  It will be a fun little learning journey for me. I can't wait!  Plus getting it now leaves me time to learn to use it before we head to Paris.

So that's my BIG purchase...it's my Christmas present :)  We aren't really exchanging gifts this year (the H and I) because our trip is our gift.

Next up, I got this pretty sweater from Express for 40% OFF:

It's got this pretty, gunmetal colored metallic thread through it.  It was $79.50 and I got it for 40% off.

I picked up 4 packs of Wallflowers from Bath & Body Works too because they were on sale for $5 for a pack of two refills. For anyone who doesn't use these---I recommend them above and beyond any plug in air freshner I've ever used. The quality of the product and the variety of amazing scents available simply beat out the competition.

Lastly, I purchased these two incredible items from LOFT (at 40% off) that I am very excited about!

First, this gorgeous top (*sigh*, it's just so feminine and romantic)

The second item is this lovely lace skirt:

and here they are when I tried them on
(I wouldn't wear them together, this is just from the fitting room):

The top photographed a bit red...it's more of a reddish hot pink---a color I was actually worried about but I think it's nice to add a little something bright in once in awhile. I thought it looked flattering with my skin tone.

Lastly, I forgot to share something I bought at H&M when I was in Slovakia. Believe it or not, I didn't ASK to shop, my grandma's sister and her husband took me to the mall because they wanted to show me where my grandma had liked to shop (her and I shared a love for shopping.)  I only went to about 3 stores.  I ended up getting this sweater coat from H&M.  It's super long and warm...yet also lightweight so It's perfect to layer under a long coat, or even wear as a coat here in Houston where it's not too chilly:

and here's what I wore today---comfy clothes for shopping!

Tee- Love Culture
Hoodie- Victoria's Secret PINK
Tights- Lulu Lemon Wunder Under Pintuck (crops)
Boots- Nine West
Scarf---- My grandmother's---it was one of the items I took as a memory of her and I absolutely love it!

By the way---the Nine west boots are INCREDIBLY comfortable. I was so impressed with how great the felt when I walked around in them for a few hours. I am so very glad I bought them :)

How was your thanksgiving? Did you brave the malls today to get some great deals?

xoxo,

Veronika.