OOTD: Right on Target

Happy Thursday ladies!  I just got home from an intense workout---I've gone 4 days in a row and I am SORE.  I always just work through the soreness because when I take too many days off, the pain is worse, whereas if I work it out, it goes away faster.

Today I brought another colorful, printed dress out of my closet. It's from the Tucker for Target collection and I had forgotten how much I liked it (I bought it towards the end of last summer...so I didn't have that many chances to wear it.)

 LOL---this is me leaving the house with my big gym bag in tow!

Dress- Tucker for Target
Shoes- Cynthia Vincent for Target
Cardigan- Express
Belt- Came on a dress from Papaya

I am really excited for a review I have coming up of a hairdryer I was sent.  It has changed my blow drying experience and I can't wait to share it with you---expect that next week :)  Here's how my blowout looked with the new hairdryer.

I also want to share with you a nail polish I got over the weekend. It's Sephora by OPI and it's called The Way Tutu His Heart and it's an opaque light pink. You need a good three coats, but I like the result a lot.

It's good if you like that real milky, opaque look. You can buy it here.

Lastly, have you seen the cover of the latest issue of Allure magazine? Lauren Conrad is on the cover and she looks STUNNING. Loving her beachy hair and smokey eyes.

HELLO Beautiful!
By the way, LC just launched a new website with her hairdresser and makeup artist---www.thebeautydepartment.com. Check it out!

I hope everyone has an incredible Friday. My husband is taking me on a date to see Water for Elephants.  I am really excited. I haven't read the book, but just after seeing the preview I knew I had to see it (plus, I just love Reese Witherspoon). Do you have any fun Friday plans? Let me know below!

xoxo,

Veronika.

Weekend Finds & Lauren Conrad Style Book Review

Happy Sunday everyone!  Today Kevin and I went to Rice Village to try and find a coat for him for our trip.  We didn't have any luck at any of the stores we checked out, so we'll probably have to try the Galleria next week. It's more difficult to find stylish, heavier coats here in Houston since it doesn't get that cold here, even in the winter.

Today it was SO hot out. I mean like you could lay out by the pool hot...and it's nearly November!

Banana Republic was having a 20% off everything in the store sale today so we got a few things there and Kev got a new sweater at Express.  Here's what I got:

Black dress from Zara- I actually bought this yesterday but forgot to include it.  It's a perfect length for work and very soft and comfy.

Bath and Body works Wallflowers.  I absolutely love these. They keep the house smelling awesome. They were on sale 2 packs for $20 plus I got 20% off of my purchase using a coupon.

GAP "always skinny" jeans.  I got black ones.  I got these in a 28 (size 6) I like the way they fit and love that they have the stretch in them because they are much comfier than my always skinny destroyed ones which are just a denim without stretch.  I used a GAP Groupon and a store credit so these technically only cost me $45.

I love this satin top from Banana Republic's Monogram Collection. It was on sale for $31.99 and I got an additional 30% off.  I love tops that have detailing at the neckline like this. It almost acts as an accessory, no necklace needed!

Yesterday at Sephora I tried on a bit of this glittery gold nailpolish and I thought- it's perfect for the holidays!  I like to do my nails Lorraine-style and just paint glitter on one nail (it is a PAIN to get off.)  So I picked this up today.  I also ordered some stuff online because Sephora is having their Friends & Family sale (20% off everything on the site, use code FF2010).

I stopped by at MAC and picked up a Mineralize skin finish natural in Medium-Plus. I have seen a lot of bloggers and YouTubers using these powders and although my MAC Studio Fix is my Holy Grail powder, I thought I'd give this a go. If I don't like it, I can return it (I was not aware MAC had a return policy like this.)

 
 Here is is compared to my Studio Fix in C3 (on the right). The C3 is definitely a bit more yellow. I tend to enjoy yellow-toned foundations because they give a brightness to my skin.

I will report back when I've had a chance to use it.

I snapped some shots of my favorite parts of Lauren Conrad's Style book and wanted to share them here.  While I didn't think the book provided any ground-breaking information, it did give me a few cute ideas. My favorite feature was the Little Black Dress five different ways: (click to enlarge)

 

I really love the black lace slip under the dress in the first photo (from the left) I have been trying to find one online ever since I saw it with no luck!  I think it's great to have that one fabulous black dress in your closet that can really be styled so many different ways.  Every woman needs one of those dresses!

Here are a few of my other favorite shots from the book:

 Ohh a PINK bag!

Her hair and makeup are always so pretty and I love how she sticks to a signature look.  I feel I'm the same way. I know how I like my hair and makeup to look, and I stick with a look that works for me.  It's nice to try different things, but my hair has been every color in the book and I've tried different hair lengths...I've finally found a look I love (my current) and I'm sticking to it!

Lauren shows how a dress goes from day (office) to night (dinner)

Dear gorgeous rosette dress, I am in love with you. That is all.

Bottom line- if you love Lauren Conrad, I think you will like this book. The information isn't ground-breaking or something you haven't heard before, but it has great photos and great tips on things like organizing your closet, shopping better and even packing. 

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

xoxo,

Veronika.

PS- did you miss Motivation Mondays this week?  Check it out HERE!

Lulu helping me blog!

Weekend Shopping: Kate Spade Cuteness, Victoria's Secret PINK & Express

Last Monday, one of my coworkers walked into our offices carrying a lovely Kate Spade small handbag and I gasped at how cute it was!  I knew I had to have it. She got it at the outlets on 290 so I waited until the weekend, praying they would still have them (the entire store is deeply discounted, so I worried they would sell out.)

Luckily, when I walked into the store today they had some left. I also saw a cute gold bag and took some photos to send to my friend to help me pick which one I should get:

I was going back and forth and then I decided on the white one (the same one as my coworker) and then just as I was about to finally make a decision, I decided to just "try on" the same purse as the white one, in bright pink. I tried to deny my love for it, but I had fallen- deeply, deeply in love with the pink handbag. It was bright, bold...exciting! It made me happy just looking at it. So that's the one I got.  I still love the white one, but I thought the pink just screamed "Veronika!" Plus, there was one ONE left in pink! IT HAD TO BE A SIGN!!!

It's such a pretty pink. Plus, it will punch up any outfit. I bought this smaller bag because I was tired of lugging around a massive handbag when I went shopping. This bag will allow my debit cards, coupons, iPhone and car keys to fit and that's all I need!  Sometimes taking a heavy bag when you're going to be shopping around for hours is such a hassle and it gets sooo heavy that my shoulder starts to hurt after awhile. Plus, the bag is perfect for a night out, too.

It's cute on the inside too! I can't wait to use it :) I still really love the white one and even the gold one I saw there, but I had to choose. The best part is, I paid for the entire bag with giftcards I got for my birthday, so it was...free!  It originally retailed for $195.00 and I got it on sale for $165.00 plus 40% off which with tax came to about $107.  Worth every penny! I absolutely love it. I don't own one Kate Spade item, so it was fun to buy something from a brand I've never owned. I don't typically go for Kate's handbags because most are too simple (and pricey!) but I just had to have this one.

Next weekend, I am helping to host a baby shower for a friend.  The girls decided on a "sports theme" party and they are asking everyone to wear their favorite sports jersey to the party. I don't even OWN a sports jersey or sports team tee shirt of any kind (not that that would be surprising to most people who read this blog.) I like to play sports, but I don't care to watch them and don't follow any teams (my husband of course, LOVES sports and does the whole fantasy football thing.)

I was kind of at a loss because I'm not really into sports or wearing sports gear (unless it's to actually work out). That all changed when I visited Victoria's Secret today. Behold:

This is about as close to a jersey as it gets for me. It's HOT in Texas and I can't even fathom buying something I'd never wear again- but this cute tee is jersey-esque and I'll wear it for working out too, so it works.

Oh, and I got free flip flops at VS today because they were having a promotion where if you buy anything from the VS PINK line, you get flip flops!  I think the tee is a nice compromise!

Next up, I got this pretty white extra long cardigan from Express. It was on sale for $39.50 but my lovely friend Candice gave me a $10 OFF coupon that she had which brought the price down (awesome!)

I love the pretty crystal buttons. It makes the cardigan more feminine. I actually don't own a white cardi so this was a nice addition to my closet.

The last thing I picked up today was a pretty glittery nail polish from Sephora. I was inspired by Lorraine (her YouTube Channel is TheCurrentCustom) to use glittery polish after seeing her have it on in several of her videos. Sometimes she just does one nail on each hand with glitter other times she puts it on all of her nails. I only plan to use it on my toes so it's not as "in your face." I got the color called "It's Bouquet With Me"which is the same one she has on in her video. I'm going to layer mine over OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark.

I'm excited to use it and I'll post photos when I've used it :)

Did you buy anything this weekend?  I am going to try not to shop for the next two weekends (for clothes and makeup, still need to buy groceries! hehe)

I don't know if I'll make it, but it's worth a try. My husband and I want to plan a vacation to Europe so I am trying to shop less so I can save my money to shop in Europe...and to uh, eat there and stuff.

Thanks for reading and hope you have a fabulous weekend!

xoxo,

Veronika.