OOTD: The Textured Hem

Happy MONDAY everyone!  I am feeling incredible right now because I just had the BEST workout. I took one of my trainer's classes and let me tell you, I was sweating like I've never sweat before.  It feels amazing to start my week with a massive sweat and muscle burning session.

I was also thrilled to start my week with this gorgeous black dress I got at Marshall's this weekend. It's by the brand Taylor which is sold at Nordstrom and other stores. It was originally over $100 and I got it for $49.99. Score. It's just such an incredible dress---and yes, it's black, but I just had to get it because it's so different from anything I own with the pretty texture on the hem---it's simple, yet makes a statement.

Let's take a look:

 

Dress- Taylor brand, Marshall's
Shoes- Jessica Simpson
Cardigan-  Express
Bag- Tory Burch

Thank you, as always, for being such amazing, sweet and supportive readers! I'm lucky to have you all.  Also---did you start off your Monday with an awesome workout? Tell me in the comments below!

xoxo,

Veronika.

OOTN: The Dress I Didn't Wear

Last night H and I went to dinner with Candice and her date and we had a blast. I was so excited when I was getting ready to go out last night because I decided to wear one of my favorite dresses that I bought last year at Forever21.

Ultimately, I didn't wear it because I was worried it would be too cold inside the restaurant and I also didn't have a cardigan or blazer that worked well over the dress (note to self: get neutral/light colored blazer or cardigan.)

I did snap some pics of the dress before I changed because it's really truly one of my favorite pieces--- it reminds me of a watercolor painting.  What do you think?

 Dress- Forever 21
Shoes- Jessica Simpson
Belt- my grandmother's

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! I will probably do a shopping post when I get back from returning some shoes today. I got some peep toe black classic pumps yesterday and for some reason they looked great with my skinny jeans when I tried them on in the store but then when I tried them on at home with just a skirt, I didn't like how they looked. So back they go!

xoxo,

Veronika.

OOTD: Black, White, Lilac & Stripes (Casual Friday)

Happy Friday everyone! I am so incredibly sore today that my plan is to basically lounge around, read magazines, watch TV, order-in and relax!  Two days in a row of workouts after no workouts for a week= it hurts to sit down when I pee. Seriously.  But...I'm glad I'm back into it and sticking with my goals.

Here's what I wore today for casual Friday:

Cardigan- Armani Exchange
(LOVE--I'm obsessed with this cardi!)
Jeans- GAP "Always Skinny"
Tank- Marshalls
Jelly Flats- J.Crew
(you can get the online in other colors!)
Necklace- F21
Bracelets- forget the brand but they were for a charity thing

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm kind of itching to get some new summer (heeled) sandals for work. I love open-toe shoes for spring/summer!

xoxo,

Veronika.

PS- check out my blogger friend Healthy Honey's blog sale! She's got some cute stuff for sale :)

I just had to add this to the post---my three favorite things on a Friday morning---my husband, Lulu and Starbucks:

OOTD: The Pink Dress

It's almost Friday, Friday, gonna get down on Friday, looking forward to the weekend, weekend, Friday, Friday, Friday....

Okay, that's enough of that---and for those of you who didn't catch the funny in that first line---you haven't watched Rebbecca Black's "Friday" video so I'm going to link it here for your viewing pleasure.

Yesterday, I showed you the Banana Republic olive dress (which, BTW I checked the freaking tag today and would you believe it---it was originally $115!!! I didn't even see that when I bought it for $41.99 plus 30% off...so now I feel even awesomer about it---if that's even possible!)

Today, I'm showing you the pink Banana Republic dress. I didn't really accessorize either dress because I wanted to show them just on their own---I'll play around with belts and such next time I wear 'em. Also--- a few people have asked about sizing. I got the olive in an XS and the pink in a Small. I have no idea why but I liked the olive in the smaller size. Weird.

HI LULU!!!

Dress-  Banana Republic
(On clearance racks right now!!!)
Cardigan- Express
Shoes- Jessica Simpson
(and yes, I've been wearing these every darn day)
Necklace- Tiffany & Co.

What are everyone's weekend plans?  I'm going to try and hit the gym, do some shopping and having dinner with Candice Saturday night!  Sounds like a perfect weekend to me!

Oh, and don't forget to check out Chloe's blog, See Chloe Shop, for all of the sales happening this weekend!
xoxo,

Veronika.

PS- I finally got back into the gym today and my quads feel like they are going to rip off of my legs. Ahh yes, the burn. It feels good to be back :)

OOTD: Olive & Lilac

I just want to apologize for the quality of these photos. I had an early morning meeting and because of the time change I had no natural light to work with and had to adjust the brightness on these photos, which look a little fuzzy and shadow-y. But I wanted to share them because I wore the dress from my Banana Republic shopping trip last weekend.

Dress- Banana Republic
Cardigan- Armani Exchange
Shoes- Jessica Simpson
Necklace- Tiffany & Co.

I know I've been saying this for weeks, but it seems like each week just passes by in a snap.  Can I make a confession? I haven't worked out in a week.  My last workout was last Wednesday and I haven't hit the gym since then because my trainer was out of town. While it's been nice to have a break, I need to get back into the gym because I miss the energy and emotional boost I get from it.  So back to the gym I go---hopefully I'll workout Thursday through Sunday.

Also---I'm completely aware that my hair looks awful in these photos. I had a bad hair day today. It was just messy and all over the place.  I think now that my hair is a bit darker all over, I'm actually missing the lightness a bit (it looks a bit lighter in person) so the next time I go in, I'm just going to get my usual fine highlights weaved through, even in the underneath parts just to brighten it up a bit. The heavy sections of blonde weren't for me, but I can handle an all-over blended look.  Who knows though, the underneath part will probably fade pretty soon anyway...we shall see.

xoxo,

Veronika.

OOTD: Prints & Navy

It's only Tuesday and I'm already feeling pretty exhausted. I think the fact that it's darker outside when I wake up now is totally throwing me off. Oh that extra hour...how I miss it.

This morning I made a conscious effort not to wear black...let's see how I did:

Blouse- LOFT
Skirt- BCBG
Cardigan- Express
Shoes- Jessica Simpson
Belt- it was my grandmother's

I mentioned I was getting my hair colored this weekend (just the underneath part) because the highlights were too bright/yellow-toned.  I'm happy with the result and overall my hair feels so much better.  I think the bleaching dried it out a lot.  I also had it cut (split ends, begone!) The underneath will lighten a bit over time, which I'm 100% okay with as I kind of like that naturally-faded look.

The first thing I said when I walked into my office today was "I have an announcement: I cooked last night." I was so proud of the delicious meal I made last night that I just have to share it here. I worked from a recipe I found in Glamour Magazine.

It's a pesto pasta with cherry tomatoes, broccoli and Parmesan cheese. We added the grilled shrimp.

YUM! You can find the recipe in Glamour's issue with Kate Winslet on the cover.  Personally, I like to get inspired by a recipe but I don't always follow it perfectly. I add or take away things based on my preferences---but recipes are nice because they give you an idea of what foods complement each other and how to prepare everything (which can be a foreign concept to newbies like me.)

Hope everyone has a lovely night!

xoxo,

Veronika.

Decorating Your Home: Textures Make Things Pretty

If there was rehab for pillow addiction, my husband would check me in tomorrow. Or more like yesterday.  Since we're putting our home on the market soon, I've been obsessively tweaking things to make everything as great as it can be.  This included getting some new pillows for the couch.  See, the thing is, I don't allow us to use the pretty satin pillows that we have on the couch---they are for display only.  For the longest time, the pillows we actually used were mismatched ones from our old couches.  I finally decided to get a few more that match the current set so it didn't look weird in photos with half of the pillows being pretty purples and the other half being black and white and black and brown zebra print. 

I got 3 new pillows---two from my beloved West Elm and one from Crate and Barrel.  I think when it comes to decorative pillows, mixing textures and prints in complimentary colors is the way to go. It gives your decor a little depth and interest versus getting just the same pillows in the same color and texture.  Ready to see the new additions? Me too!

You might remember our other pillows from previous posts: (all from West Elm):

Now, we won't necessarily leave them laid out like that for the Realtor's photos, but they are like that for now. I sit in that little corner with the new pillows. In fact, I'm sitting there right now with my legs up! We still LOVE our West Elm Tillary Sofa. It has been the best furniture investment ever. So comfy!

Oh, and someone else loves the new pillows too!

Lulu loves anything soft and fluffy, so he's pretty happy with these new additions. 

More house updates:  we had new carpet put in in the downstairs bedroom.  We have no idea what the heck happened, but the previous owners had stains all over it.  We paid twice to have it cleaned but they just wouldn't come out.  They were pretty bad and made the room look dingy.  We pretty much got the same carpet we had before, it's just shiny and new now!  Definitely worth it since it's the first room people see when they walk in---we don't want to turn people off right away!

Here's how it looks now:

Now, the pillows we have here are just leftovers from previous pillows we've used on our old couches, so it's not my ideal design, but sometimes, you've gotta work with what you've got!
It's incredible what a difference new carpet makes!

Are you as obsessed with pillows as I am? I can't help it---they are pretty, soft and fluffy! What's not to love? Plus, they can change the look of a room so easily!  New pillows can equal a completely new and refreshed look.

Hope everyone had a great Monday! I only worked out 3 days last week so I need to get my butt back on track this week! My goal is to do 5 days this week.

xoxo,

Veronika.

PS- I'm off to cook dinner for the H!  Yummy pasta primavera with pesto and shrimp! I'm working on my cooking skills!