Saturday Notes: Kate Middleton's Loveliness,Tennis & New Nike Eclipse Shoes

I am so glad that I was able to have a 4-day weekend.  After the traveling, jet lag and turkey dinners, I was exhausted and it was nice to sleep in today!

I started my morning off right by watching some DVR'd shows all about Prince William and Kate Middleton.  Can I just say how much I adore her? I mean, her hats, her gorgeous blown-out hair, her pretty smile. Sigh.  She will be a gorgeous princess.  I'll admit that I'm more than a little obsessed with her various hair adornments and hats:

 

I mean...isn't she just perfect?  I just love how the hats add that incredible last touch to an outfit. 

No stranger to hair accessories myself, I must say they really do make an outfit more unique.  I once wore a back feather flower in my hair with a little of that black netting on it (from Forever 21) to a club for a friend's birthday and it was a conversation piece all night---guys and girls would stop me and be like I LOVE that thing in your hair! (even if they didn't quite know what it was.) I was shocked at the response because usually I think people think big hair accessories like that are weird...but I'm not one to care what others think so I just rock them with pride! Here are a few of my hair accessories in action:

 OK, maybe this one's more of a mask, but FEATHERS=LOVE!  This was on Halloween

 More halloween

 It was always my dream to be a princess :P

 Wedding Feathers

 Feathered headband on my birthday

So see, Ms. Middleton and I have much in common.  I think it's pretty clear we share a love of feathers, hats and headbands.  And princes.  I'm really happy for them! Can't wait for the royal wedding!

Do YOU ever wear feathery or floral hair accessories? If you do, do you find that people approach you about it or do you get strange looks?

Today my husband and I played some tennis at a local court.  It was really fun---we hadn't gone to hit balls since last year.   The weather was perfect and it was a great workout (though admittedly, we had to stop after 30 minutes because I got a nasty blister that ripped after only those 30 minutes of playing---it's on my right index finger right where it bends so it's particularly painful.)

Then we ventured off to Academy where I bought some resistance bands to use with my Pilates workout DVD's.  I also picked up this pair of Nike Eclipse shoes I've had my eye on.  I just love the color combo! I'm going to wear them for light workouts and I'll also bring them to Paris for walking if I ever need a day off from my boots.

 Resistance bands and PINK tennis balls! (why not, right!?)

I really like them. They are sleeker than typical running shoes so they're a good "casual" shoe choice. They retail for $65.00 at most places but at Academy they were competitively priced at $59.99, so I saved a few bucks. Amazon also has them for $59.99.

Did you do any shopping today? I was tempted to go to the Galleria but I somehow talked myself out of it.  I really should be saving for the trip because I'm sure I'll want to shop there.

xoxo,

Veronika.

PS- I took a few shots of Lulu with the new camera---and BIG difference.  The quality is incredible.

Adorn Your Locks: Feathers, Florals and Bows, Oh My!

Hair accessories. They can bring so much to an outfit or a look, and yet many women are afraid to wear them because they think it might appear too bold or cutesy.

I'm here to tell you that hair accessories are one of the best ways to pretty-up any look!

Ever since Miss Blair Waldorf wore hair accessories from jeweled headbands to feathery fascinators on Gossip Girl, similar styles are available everywhere.



A few of Blair's most famous headbands were made by designer Jennifer Behr, but there are many more affordable options. Today I stumbled upon an adorable website that sells a pretty assortment of hair accessories, called True Birds. (click photo to enlarge)

Forever 21 has an incredible assortment of hair accesories as well- from rhinestone-adorned, bow-shaped bobby pins to feathery hair combs and floral blossoms both loose and affixed to headbands.


J. Crew, Club Monaco, and Bebe also have some gorgeous options if you don't mind spending a little extra.
Do you wear accessories in your hair? I do for almost every evening occasion. I think it adds so much to an outfit and is a nice alternative to traditional jewelry, or in addition to jewelry.

I even wore a feathered fascinator made by Etsy seller LoBoheme on our wedding day (she was even kind enough to feature a few of our wedding pics on her website!)

I'm trying to be bolder and use embellished bobby pins during the day too (I've got ones that have little bows and flowers on them- you just have to be careful so they don't come across as childish.)

Before I go, I wanted to tell you ladies that I wrote my second piece for Houston Culture Map. You can read it here. It was just a quick tidbit for a Christian Dior makeup event I attended and covered. I love DiorShow mascara and many of their other products (I am dying to try their Airflash Foundation but I need to justify the $60 price tag somehow!)

Thanks for reading, and I hope you are all having a great week!

xoxo,

Veronika.