Honeymoon Packing & Fashions

If you watch Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing," you know that one of the realtors, Chad Rogers is super-OCD with the way he packs. I can relate.

My husband always makes fun of Chad and his zip lock bags, but guess who's laughing now?

That's right ladies, we packed almost all of our stuff into zip lock bags. It's all about the roll and compress. Repeat after me "roll...and compress."

Here's how it started out- can you see my dear husband zip-locking? OH YES! I HAVE EVIDENCE!!! Please direct your attention towards the top left of the photo:

Poor Lulu. He gets sad when he sees suitcases because he just knows it means mommy and daddy are leaving. If you could see his face in the above photo, you would see how sad he looks. :(

Here's some of our product zip lock bags. I bought travel bottles for shampoo, conditioner, body wash and face wash. That way I can take good shampoo but not have to worry about bringing huge bottles (and thus taking up lots of room in our luggage.)

Yep, those are sour patch kids below (to the left). Gotta bring some candy fixes.



Above, you can see the inside of our luggage. Oh glorious zip locks! They just make me feel so happy and organized, and clothes stay clean if anything spills and the bag breaks.

Here are a few of my fave dress picks that I packed: (for dinners, etc)

The above dress is from Forever 21. Here is me wearing it this past summer (with a belt from Club Monaco)


I absolutely love that dress. I think it's the perfect vacation dress. Then, there's this white beauty:
And here I am in the dress last summer. I know you can't see it very clearly but it is a great summery dress. It is made of a taffeta material, I think. Also from Forever 21. I love the little flowers at the bust. They add a little something extra. I think it would be a cute after party dress for a bride having a beach wedding.

Continuing with my Forever 21 theme, I bought this cute dress on a whim right before our wedding. I wore it the next day when we lounged by our hotel pool for awhile. It is REALLY short, so I can only wear it as beach attire.

Oh the shortness. Going off on a tangent here but...Forever 21 really needs to consider making a "tall" line. Seriously. I will pay extra for the fabric. It makes me so sad when a gorgeous dress that would cost like $300 at BCBG is $27.50 at Forever 21 but I can't buy it because it's like a shirt on me.

Then there's this pretty cotton dress from Zara. I wore it while getting ready for our wedding. Perfect for slipping over a bikini. I think the detailing on the bust is what makes it so unique and not just a typical cotton strapless dress. It really looks cute on.



Love it!

I wore the dress below to my rehearsal dinner. It is also from Forever 21 (see a pattern here- they have the cutest most affordable dresses!)

I like it. It's bright and flowy, perfect for the beach, if I must say so myself! It is also one of those dresses that you need a tan to rock so this next week will be a good time to wear it! It has a cool criss-cross thing going on in the back with the purple satin strings.

I am also brining this black dress. It is such a staple. I really find it so easy to change the look of it with a belt or another accessory. It has a bubble hem, which can be tricky, but I think because of my height I can get away with it.

That was my bachlorette party- hence the crown. The pic below shows it with a bright pink flower I pinned to it. Believe it or not, the flower is from Papyrus (as in the paper store. yep) I saw it and though...this would look cute on a dress or cardigan or in my hair...it was like $5 so I just got it!

Those are just some of the dresses I packed, so I thought I would share. Let me know what you think! Some of my other picks can be find in previous haul posts where I bought bikinis and other beach wear :)

Then, there is this fabulousness. Behold my beach hat:

Please ignore my shiny skin. I got a spray tan earlier this evening and haven't washed it off yet.

Sigh. This hat makes me feel like a rich person who owns a yacht. LOL. I don't know why but for some reason it makes me think of those society women who wear one piece swimsuits with big huge rimmed hats and massive sunglasses. I love it. Mine is from Zingara Swimwear.

Do you love my plaid PJ pants and workout top? hehe! I'm not always so fashionable!

Before I go, I want to mention that I found a great way to re-use those zip-up clear plastic packages that bed sheets come in- I use them when I pack! I am SO paranoid about losing my luggage that I pack all of my expensive stuff in my carry on. So in this case, I packed my pricey bathing suits, cover ups and dresses into my carry on. I wasn't able to include everything, but I picked what mattered most/what I would wear the most/what was priciest. This way if anything were to happen I'd have some options (though I pray my luggage comes through!) I used the clear zip-up thing that came with my bed sheets and it fit almost all of my bikinis and helped compress them so they fit perfectly into my large, carry-on handbag.

What is your packing system? Are you crazy enough to even have one like me? Do you unpack when you get to your destination, or live out of your suitcase? Let me know in the comments below!

Thank you so much for your support, for reading and overall for being lovely!

xoxo,

Veronika.

A Quick Pre-Vacation Update: Vaycay Beauty Rituals

I am going to the Dominican Republic on Sunday on our honeymoon and for my good friend's wedding. Kind of bittersweet considering what's happened in Haiti. Very sad to see all of those images in the news and to think about all of those people. If you pray, I encourage you to pray for this nation and its people.

I don't know if I'm in the minority here, but I totally PREP for a beach vacation. I order new bathing suits, dresses, sandals etc. I love wearing a different bikini every day.

However, the most important prep is my beauty prep. I have let myself get super pale and have been exfoliating like crazy to get my skin prepped and ready...for a professional airbrush tan! I can't imagine arriving in the DR like a ghost, so I am going to get a lovely glow via airbrush. I go to a girl here in Houston in the Galleria area who does an amazing job for $35. Email me if you'd like her info. Considering most places charge 50-100$, I'd say 35$ is a DEAL.

Please make me glow-y like Brooklyn Decker.

Then on Saturday after taking my final pre-vaycay pilates session, (I've gone everyday this week except for Tuesday, when I did cardio and a workout video) I am going for the brazilian.

Yep. For anyone who has done this before- you know the (slight) pain, but you also know the results are worth it. The place I go to (European Wax Center) has great prices and it actually hardly hurts at all. I truly don't feel pain because they use this special beeswax stuff (it's blue.) Apparently it only grabs the hairs and not the skin.

Saturday is also my mani/pedi appointment. I have a confession: my toes are disgusting right now. Like literally patchy Lincon Park After Dark polish chipped all over the place. I am like utterly embarassed when I have to take my shoes off at pilates only to reveal my gross toes.

Truth is, I was trying to save money by doing at-home pedicures, and I have gotten lazy since I'm always wearing tights. I badly need this professional pedicure. Oh so badly. I would take a pic of how bad they are, but no one needs to see that.

Do you do your own nails or do you always get them done professionally?

I am also going to try to do a seperate vacation packing post. I really hope I'll have time to do it tomorrow night. I'm going to show pretty much everything I'm bringing, and also discuss my packing strategy...because I have one...because I'm an organization, type-A freak and I need to pack a certain way.

How do YOU prep for a vacation? Any special rituals or beauty treatments?

I would say the spray tan, wax and mani/pedi are pretty standard (not to mention the MONTHS of working out to look cute in a bikini!)

Let me know in the comments below!

xoxo,

Veronika.

PS- Yes, my luggage is HOT PINK!

Rodarte for Target: Hello Gorgeous, Girly Bikinis

Hello lovelies!

I'm going to sort of do this post in reverse and first discuss some recent (as recent as today) purchases.

I've been looking for a casual zip-up to wear to pilates, the gym etc. I have a really nice Lulu Lemon zip-up that's made of their special fabric, but I wanted something soft and comfy.

I went to the Banana Republic at Highland Village during my lunch hour today (massive mistake-not only did I have to park far away and hike to the stores, it was pouring and windy too.)

I originally went there to try and find some gifts for my husband, and, as usual, I failed and bought something for myself (don't worry ladies, I shopped for him elsewhere!) This zip-up jacket/sweater was on sale for $43.99 plus an extra 30% off. Is is really soft and I like the way it looks on. It's a more cropped style, which can be difficult to pull off with my long torso, but I like it. (By the way, I just wore this sweater to my 6 p.m. power pilates class and already got a compliment!) Take a look:

Then, there's one of my favorite Dallas purchases: This lovely rosette-sleeve tee from Forever 21, for $17.80. Did I mention I'm obsessed with rosettes? Throw a rosette on something and it will likely end up in my closet. It's the ultimate feminine detail...so so pretty.

My husband ordered this dress from Vix Swimwear for me for our vacation. Please do check out the link, because it looks much more gorgeous on the model than it does hanging lifelessly in my closet. Did I mention it originally cost $284.00 and I got it for $99.00? I tried it on when I got home, and it's gorgeous. I got a size small, for reference. I struggled with sizing on this, but I am glad I got the small because it fits perfect. The long ruffle train on the back is stunning and the subtle leaf pattern really adds a great dimension to the dress:

Now, for the Rodarte part of the post. I'm going to be 100% honest here. I didn't know who Rodarte was before the Target line (gasp!) but I must say, I've grown quite fond of the designs- more particularly I feel in love with the girly, ruffly bathing suits.

The first suit I fell in love with was this black and cream floral patterned one. The top has lace, which makes it look a little bit lingere-esque. Kind of like Beach Bunny Swimwear- which has been featured in Sports Illustrated Magazine and on The Real Housewives of Orange County (I believe both Alexis and Gretchen wore suits from the line.)

I assure you, it still looks like a bikini when you're wearing it. I also got the same top in black, to mix and match with different bottoms I already own. After all, you can never go wrong with black.

Then, there's this beauty. I cannot even begin to describe it's greatness. It is just the cutest darn bathing suit I may have ever seen. Ever. Click to enlarge for more detail. Ruffles, flowers and prettiness galore!

Sigh. So stunning. It actually looks better on than it does on the pic on Target's website. I think if you have a smaller cup size, the top might look more like it does on the model on the website, but if you've got a c-cup or more, it will lay differently (which I like better). Here's the pic from the website:

On the model, the top lays kind of flat and you can really see the ruffle at the bottom, whereas on me, it is a little curvier and the bottom ruffle doesnt look quite so obvious on the suit.

And, for good measure, here is the pic of the other Rodarte suit I bought:

I should probably mention that the suits were $16.99 a piece, which is incredible considering some of the suits I've bought lately are more in the $100 per-piece range. They seem well-made. I will post pics and more details once I wear them on vacation.

Have you bought anything from the Rodarte for Target collection? I know that gorgeous blogger Saltwater Dreams bought a cute striped top from the collection. I checked out the rest of the collection, and although some of the items were cute, I didn't know if I could pull them off. Some of the looks were pretty bold. I do like the sheer blouses though.

xoxo,

Veronika.

I wish all of my beautiful readers a very Merry Christmas (or whatever you celebrate) and a joyous new year!