Blog Archive

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Reader Q & A

Hello lovely readers! I have been writing these answers since I got home from work at around 6:30 and it's 9:41 p.m. so please forgive me if they start to sound crazy! hehe. I have to say I so enjoyed reading your questions and writing these answers. I am so thankful for each and everyone who submitted a question and to everyone who will read this!

Thank you so much and I hope my fellow bloggers will post a Q&A as well so I can ask my questions too!

xoxo,

Veronika.

PS- this post got all oddly formatted so I have to re-add in all the pictures and links...might take awhile.

What do you do? Work-wise?
I am a public relations executive at a boutique PR firm. I work with clients in health care, non profits, law firms, etc. I really love what I do! I did a postgraduate program in Corporate Communications, so it's nice to actually be working in my field.

Since you seem to know all the good stuff there is to know about beauty and fashion...where do you get your hair done in Houston!? I have yet to find a salon here and have been going to Austin when I need a haircut! I had a girl here that I really loved, at the salon inside Saks, but then she got married, had a kid, moved, blah blah. I have yet to find a good Houston salon! I went to Beautique once (in the village) but they butchered me. Any suggestions?
I go to David Tran at Cutloose on Westheimer (near Montrose.) Sadly, my amazing hairdresser is moving to Italy for love, so I need to find a new hairdresser at that salon. I am going to stay at Cutloose, but I will miss my incredible stylist so much :( It is definitely a bittersweet thing for me, but I am so happy for him (hey, I followed my heart to another country too, so I can relate!)

Have you always been into fashion and beauty? Or was there a turning point in your life where you discovered that you loved it?
I've always loved fashion and beauty. I always loved to shop and loved all things pink and girly. I went through some strange phases in high school (like nearly everyone does) but it taught me many beauty lessons (strange phases include super thin eyebrows, dark copper lipstick, super pale skin, slicking hair into a high bun with gel, wearing tons of butterfly clips in my hair etc.)

Aside from fashion and shopping, do you have any other hobbies that you enjoy that haven't been discussed yet in your blog?
I like working out, spending time with family and friends, going to movies, volunteering, driving around and looking at pretty houses, cleaning, watching TV, reading, organizing, eating out at restaurants.

What state do you live in, and do you like where you live?
I live In Texas and I absolutely love it. I think I'm a southern girl at heart. I never felt like I didn't fit in here. I really love where I live for many reasons, including the weather, shopping, living downtown- lots of things to do and the great sense of community here in Houston.

Is being a newlywed as difficult at first as everyone says it is?
We had a pretty difficult first year. My husband lost his job a month before our wedding (to the day) and that was pretty stressful for both of us. We did live together before getting married, so there wasn't that transition to deal with. One of the most difficult things for me was leaving my friends from back home. I was lucky enough to meet a kindred spirit here in Houston though (who happens to be a Canadian) and that has really made life a lot more happy for me. I love my husband, love spending time with him and love our marriage, but I truly believe that there is something in every woman's heart that only an honest, loving and trusting relationship with another woman can fill.

This totally isn't fashion or beauty related, but since we're both Houston gals I thought I'd ask anyway. What are your favorite places to eat?? I absolutely love trying new places and new types of food (love food!)
I really love Chuy's, El Tiempo, Americas, PF Chang's and Benjy's. I also love Star Pizza and Buffalo Wild Wings. Love food too!

What was your most expensive 'fashion' splurge? (wedding dress/accessories and beauty items like highlights/extensions don't count!)
I honestly don't know because I've never really splurged on anything designer. Once for a job interview I spent almost $300.00 on a gorgeous dress and leather belt from Club Monaco, and that was a pretty big splurge for me. Hmm...this is making me think I need to just go ahead and splurge on something! (not good! hehe)

Not so much a question, but a request you could respond to nonetheless (if you're willing): Will you post a picture of yourself sans make up?
I honestly don't have a picture of myself without makeup on. Having said that, it doesn't mean I never will. I definitely won't post one right now, but it is not out of the realm of consideration. We'll see if I ever have the courage to do it! I would love to be that secure in myself.

Since we are both on the Houston Nest board you might know who I am but, I am in the need of some suggestions. I was never taught to put on makeup so I am self taught but I would love to do some more looks. What do you suggest would be a good place to learn? Wanna give a lesson?? LOL Also none of my friends are super fashionable, were all stay at home moms. But I would love to update my wardrobe some. Wanna go shopping?
The makeup artist who did my wedding makeup does makeup lessons. Her name is Danielle from The Perfect Face and she is really incredibly talented and does all of the makeup for the Miss USA pageants too! Yes I want to go shopping (hehe, do you even have to ask!) I bet if you've ever been in a mall on a weekend, you've seen me in passing! I think it is really important for moms to work on maintaining their apperance because oftentimes women who become moms forget that they have needs too and don't pamper themselves anymore. Happy wife, happy life! I think all moms should treat themselves to some clothes and makeup looks that make them feel fabulous!

You have mentioned that you love Starbucks green tea...what is your favorite green tea to drink at home?
I actually buy the TAZO brand green tea (I get the "Zen" one) from my local Kroger, which is what they serve at Starbucks. I also love Yerba Mate Peppermint tea and Bigelow brand green tea.

Do you cook?
I have cooked. I actually cooked last night for the first time in a long time. I don't love to cook. When my husband was laid off, I suggested he learn to cook and now he's awesome and he cooks most of our meals (I love it and find it very sexy!) I am good at doing meal prep (chopping, cutting, mixing.) I don't like to touch any raw meat. I have done it, but I hate it. I always fear salmonella poisoning even though I was my hands absolutely compulsively!

What do you wear when you're relaxing at home?
My husband and I watch a lot of TV and have AT&T U-verse where we can record 4 shows at once (thank God!) We like to rent movies, watch our recorded shows, play with out dog and take naps. Oh oops, I misread the question. When I'm relaxing at home, I wear sweatpants or yoga pants with a t-shirt or tank top (lots of VS PINk stuff.) I also throw on a sweater if I'm cold. I focus on wearing super comfy clothes at home. I hate feeling constricted or stuffy at home. I just want to sprawl out and relax and stretch!

As a fellow tall-ish girl (I'm 5'9"), how often do you wear heels? Do you ever feel out of place in heels? Is you husband still taller than you in heels?
I wear heels I would say 5 days a week. I wear heels to work on an almost daily basis. I think it looks professional and put together (and I love shoes/heels so I love wearing them.) I am taller than my husband in heels (he is 6'0 and I am 5'10.) I never feel out of place in heels. I used to be insecure about my height, but now it gives me an amazing feeling of confidence and stability. I love being tall!

Can you post a list of the blogs you follow? I read your blog daily or every few days if I get busy...I have a hard time finding blogs that are updated as often as yours. I travel a lot and like to read blogs that are fun and interesting to pass time in my hotels. Thanks!
I can copy and paste a list into an email message but if I c&p it here my formatting in this posts gets completely destroyed. :( email me at veronabrit at gmail dot com and I will send you my entire list. I have 142 blogs on it!

What are your political leanings? Conservative, liberal, independent (ie: code for "I don't want really to answer") ?
I am a mix of conservative and liberal (a nod to my Canadian upbringing, I'm sure). I'm for gay marriage, pro-choice and I'm also for guns and in certain cases, the death penalty. I want great health care for everyone, but not the way it's currently being proposed. I am not allowed to vote (yet) in the USA.

What about religion? Any you like? One you follow?
I grew up Catholic (went to Catholic elementary and high school.) I consider myself a Christian. I believe in God, I pray. I attend church services here in Houston occasionally at Lakewood, where Joel Osteen is pastor. I prefer churches that are positive, uplifting and motivational, and that is why I go to Lakewood.

How did you and your husband meet? And how long were you together before you got engaged? Oh and what is the age difference between you and your husband? Are you older or younger than he is? (I'm older than mine, which is probably why I ask.
My husband and I met for the first time in my hometown of Toronto, but before that we were talking online/on the phone/on webcam for hours and hours every day. By the time we had our first "official" date, I felt like I had known him forever. We dated long distance for about 8 months before I moved to Texas (seeing each other every 3 weeks or so), and we got engaged 4 months after that. My husband is 7 years older than I am. He is 33 and I am 26. He is the first guy I ever dated who was significantly older than me, and I guess it was just what I needed :)

Do you have any siblings? What about, your husband?
I am an only child. My husband has a 3o year old sister, who I love but we don't get to see each other often because she lives in Oklahoma! Every time she visits I beg her to come back to Texas because I've always wanted a sister. We are both obsessed with "Anne of Green Gables," and vampire-based books, TV shows, and movies.

Were you popular with the guys in high school?
I was not popular in high school. I had different groups of friends and found myself closer to one group than the other as the years passed. I had a tough time in high school in my earlier years. I got made fun of a lot and got picked on by some girls who didn't like me (and at the time, it hurt a lot, but today I realize what it was all about.) I transferred to another high school after my parents got divorced when I was 17. It was a public high school closer to my home and I had a much better experience there (I was there for 3 semesters total.) The friends I made there are still my friends today and one of them was my maid of honor.

EDIT- I misread this one too. Updated answer: I didn't date until I was in 10th grade, so I wasn't popular with the guys really. I had guy friends though. I was scared of boys until 10th grade. I was afraid to date because of what my parents would think (they were really strict.) I always had boyfriends and serious relationships, one of which lasted through HS and some of college. I didn't date casually really. I didn't see myself as one of the "pretty girls" in my earlier HS days, so I didn't think I could even get a boyfriend, LOL!

Did you ever model? If not, you should have!
First of all, thank you! I did model when I was in HS. I signed with an agency in Toronto when I was 14 or 15 (B&M Model Management.) It was a cool experience, but I was a much different person then. When it came to modeling, I didn't know what I was doing and I was SO shy and just kind of scared and insecure. I used to go to castings/go-sees in my school uniform because I didn't have time to change. I didn't understand that whole world. I had agents tell me to lose weight in my "hips and face" and one client asked me what was wrong with my skin because I had a couple of pimples on my back when I was at a go-see (as I'm standing in front of him in a bikini shaking from being so nervous!!!) I just wasn't confident enough at that age to deal with it. I stopped modeling because I just felt like though it was fun, I just couldn't take the pressure of it. Nowadays, I have the personality for it, just not the looks or body! I definitely don't regret it. Here are some modeling pics. I looked so different! eek! I will try to scan some of the pics at a later time so they are better quality.


What kind of car do you drive? What CD is in your car right now?
I drive a Honda Accord! I burn my own mix CD's of music for my car so I can always listen to my favorite songs. I also love to sing in my car. Like BELT OUT songs like I'm on American Idol (except for I suck.) My car time is my private time to pretend I'm Carrie Underwood, dammit! I love Taylor Swift's fearless album and know the words to every song, and I also know every single word to every song on the Legally Blonde (Broadway) soundtrack. Yep!

What was your major in college?
I double-majored. One major was Law & Society and the other was Philosophy. I had intended to go to law school and ultimately decided I wanted to do public relations which is why I completed that postgraduate program mentioned above/

I was wondering if you'd be willing to post more pictures of your house--it looks totally adorable in what I saw in your Xmas post! I love how much it matched parts of your wedding.
Absolutely! What I might do is make a flip cam video showing my entire house...but you'll have to let my clean like a nutcase first!

I've been meaning to ask you this so it's not a totally random question but what did you think of the blue nail polish you bought for your vacation and did you wear the swimsuit cover-up?
I don't think I wore the bright blue nail polish on vacation, but I know I have a review on it somewhere on my blog in a NOTD post. Found it! Click here to see the blue polish. I'll also post some pics of me wearing the cover-up on vacation!


What, if any, self tanner do you use on your body, face? I am no longer allowed to go tanning (I had cancer freshman year of college) and have been sadly pale ever since.
Sorry to hear about your cancer but yay for being cancer free! I worked at a tanning salon for more than 4 years and I regret every second of it! I used to tan all of the time and it is SO bad for you! Bravo for ditching cancer-causing and wrinkle-inducing tanning beds. On my face, I used Clarins SPF 6 tanning milk. On my body I use a lot of different self tanners, so I am going to link you to a post I did awhile ago that has reviews of all of them. Click here!

What do you do to your hair in between washes so that it doesn't get oily? I feel like if I don't wash mine daily, it's just a stringy mess.
Honestly, I use babypowder most often. It is so amazing. I buy the mini bottles and sprinkle onto my roots and just use my fingers to rub it in. It works like a charm. I also like Tresemme brand dry shampoo (Walgreens or Target will have it) but I still prefer baby powder. Sometimes I mix the two. I have thin hair, but I have a lot of it. Another thing you need to do if you want your hair to stay shapely and volumized is to do a super great blowout when you wash your hair. My blowouts last 3 full days (and I'll wash on the 4th morning). I use velcro rollers and volumizing products like mousse so that my hair holds shape and volume. I only use baby powder on the 3rd day of not washing. I shower my body twice a day, but my hair only every 4th day. So if I wash on a Monday morning, the next time I was it will be Thursday morning.

Have you ever used a mineral powder foundation or do you usually use liquids? Have you noticed one or the other makes pores appear smaller?
I have been using MAC Studio Fix powder for almost 9 years. I seriously haven't found a better face product and don't even have the desire to try one. I have tried Revlon Color Stay liquid foundation but I just love wearing the Studio Fix. A couple of weeks ago, I went to the MAC store to browse and a male sales associate told my skin was absolutely flawless. I said "It's the Studio Fix, I swear!" It really gives a flawless finish. I apply MAC Studio Fix concealer first, with a concealer and foundation brush, where needed, and then I use a large fluffy brush to buff the Studio Fix powder into my skin. I wear C3, for reference.

PS- something that has made my pores look smaller is my Clarisonic.

What is your favorite color to wear? to decorate with? to paint your walls?
I love to wear black. I'm trying to wear more color (and definitely will when spring/summer hits.) I love decorating with black, white, gray and bright green. I like to mix a neutral palette with bright accents. Our entire home is painted in two colors: Functional Gray by Sherwin Williams and Smoked Oyster by Benjamin Moore (which is so, so gorgeous.)

Hi! I wanted to ask where you got those cute white with black flower-y boxes to store things in? (I think I remember them correctly?) I was looking recently for some cute bins for storage in my room.
All of the decorative boxes/stores boxes in my home are from Marshall's Home Goods. They have the most amazing and affordable home decor. If you have one near you, run, don't walk!

Hi! I was wondering what shoes you wore on your wedding day? I'm getting married this year, and we're totally dress twins!
Yay for being dress twins! Best dress ever! I wore simple flip-flops by GUESS. My feet are the ones on the right :) They had little rhinestones. I wanted to be comfy and shorter than DH!


How did you decide what you wanted to be?
I love to write, I love to talk and I'm passionate. I thought those personality traits suited a career in public relations. I also really love a high energy environment and I wanted to have a job where it's something new everyday. Because I work for an agency, I get to work on different projects with clients all of the time. It keeps it fresh, challenging and fun!

Why did you decide to get married in Texas instead of Canada?
I am a control freak. I wanted everything on our wedding day to be as perfect as it could be and I wanted to have control over how everything looked. I wanted to walk into our wedding and see my dream/vision unfold in front of my eyes, and in order to have that happen, I felt like I needed to have complete artistic control of everything and be able to access my vendors whenever I needed to. I am a little OCD about little details. I also wanted to have our wedding here because the weather is so much better and I wanted my family back home to see where I live.

What's your biggest accomplishment?
I a really proud of my degrees, about following my heart to Texas, and about the passion and effort I put into my job everyday. I am also proud of every obstacle I've overcome and about my constant effort to be as positive of a person as possible.

Do you have any cute pictures of when you were a kid?
Sure do! When I was visiting home one day I took "pictures of pictures" so I could have some cute shots of my youth. Here are a few:


Any cute stories about your hubs?
At the very beginning of our dating, I got a package in the mail one day that I wasn't expecting. I opened it and there was a sweet card with all these little wrapped gifts. He sent me my favorite perfume, a pink picture frame, a dream dictionary, a t-shirt for my dog and some other little presents. I just thought it was so sweet that he sent me all of these things that were so meaningful and showed he remembered all of my likes and interests.


Any plans for a baby any time soon?
It's so funny you ask this because I have been having a bit of baby fever lately (don't worry not ready just yet!). My husband and I have talked about babies and we think probably within the next 2 years we'd like to have our first child. I would love to have 2 children...both girls! Kevin would love to have one girl and one boy.

What are you favorite TV shows?
All reality shows, MTV shows, VH1 shows...one tree hill, gossip girl, The Bachelor, True Blood, House, Real Housewives, 90210, project runway, shear genius. We seriously watch like every TV show. There are very few shows I can't stand to watch.


What is something that you wish you would have done/paid more attention to with you wedding?
I am really happy with the way everything turned out. One thing I wish I would have done is have an individual photo with each of my bridesmaids and good friends who were there. I would have loved to have those.

List of your favorite stores:
Club Monaco, Forever 21, Macy's, Nordstroms, Ann Taylor, J. Crew, Express, Marshalls, Victoria's Secret, Lulu Lemon, Target, MAC, Sephora, BCBG.

What do you typically eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner?
For breakfast I either have a Jimmy Dean 230 calorie breakfast sandwich or a cheese stick with a really big bowl of fruit and a cup of green tea. For lunch I have either a peanut butter or turkey sandwich, soup or a salad. I also eat snacks like fruit, dried fruit, almonds and even candy during the day. For dinner we usually make some kind of meat and pasta or meat and veggies. We rarely eat red meat. Today, I had cereal and milk for dinner.

How can you afford all of these beauty buys?
My husband and I both work full time, and we don't have children. Our cars are paid off and we put a good down payment down on our home. I don't buy really expensive things/designer things and I always try to buy everything I buy on sale. We are fortunate to have everything we need in the home, so I am able to shop a little more often.

What kind of music do you like? Do you have an all-time favorite band or song?
I love Britney Spears!!! I love her, her music etc. I actually like so many genres of music...from rap, to country to rock to alternative. I truly love it all. I have everything from weird techno music to Marilyn Manson to mainstream POP and oldies like the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel on my iPod. I love all music! I don't think I have an all time favorite, but if I had to pick one artist, it would be Britney. her music is upbeat, fun to listen to and just overall makes me happy. I also really love Taylor Swift. I love RadioHead, Massive Attack, Cold Play and Sigur Ros.

How do you like your meat cooked?
Medium well. If I see blood, it's not good!

Red wine or white?
I only drink white, and only Reisling!

Favorite meal of the day?
Today my favorite meal was lunch where I had my leftovers from last night- Chicken with marinara sauce, red and orange bell peppers, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese all baked in the oven together. YUM!

I love how you decorated your closet! Where did you get those flower hangers that you have been displaying some of your purchases on?
Thank you! :) They are from Anthropologie.

I know you said you are from Canada, how did you end up in Texas? Did you go to school there?
I am in Texas because this is where my husband is from and I wanted to move here so we could be together and build a life together here. I love it here!

I would like to know the story of how your family came to Canada. I know you were a child of two? What were the conditions of why your family fled.
I am actually an only child. Slovakia (the former Czechoslovakia) was under communism when my parents left. We "escaped" to Austria and lived there for 6 months or so before coming to Canada as refugees. My father had some family already living in Canada so that was good. My parents hated communism (like pretty much everyone in the world) and wanted better opportunities for me, so they left the country to come to Canada.

What's your dream job?
I love what I'm doing right now. If I could have any job in the whole wide world I'd either want to be beauty editor at a magazine like Glamour or In Style, a PR person for a cosmetics company or the owner and director of my own Pilates studio.

How did you get involved in blogging?
When I was planning my wedding using theknot.com, I had a lot of women message me or email me asking about my hair or makeup, and this also happened in real life so I thought to myself, I love fashion and beauty and would love to share my thoughts with women who loved it as much as I did. Those encouraging, sweet and amazing emails are what prompted me to start this blog. They gave me the confidence to "put myself out there." I am just completely humbled by every reader who takes the time to read my blog everyday. It means a lot. Writing is a passion of mine, so that is another reason I love having this blog. I love what I write at work, but this is such a different way to express myself. Less limits and restrictions.

What do you think your husband likes the most about you?
It's so funny because my husband and I recently made lists of why we love each other and read them to each other one day. We do fun things like that. We also both write out top 10-12 goals each year down, put them on our fridge and cross off every goal we meet (yep, for real.) It's a great way for us to remind each other what our goals are and try to live a lifestyle that allows us to accomplish those goals. When my husband gave me the list of what he loves about me, some of the things that stood out were that he loves me because I'm passionate, intelligent, hard-working, sweet, kind, caring, loving etc.

Have you always been confident and assertive - how did you develop your confidence and assertiveness skills (I noticed that you responded assertively to some negative posts)
I haven't always been confident. It took me so many years to get to the point I am. I won't lie, sometimes the negative comments bother me, other times I can brush them off and forget about them 5 seconds later. I try to remain positive and remember what's important- that there are many women who do love to read and contribute to this blog, and that's what matters most. I think, at the end of the day, every woman needs to realize that you can't be liked by everyone (and that's OK.) I think women tend to spend so much time trying to be perfect, when really just making sure that you, your friends and family members all love each other and treat each other with respect is what's most important. When someone write a really rude or mean comment, I always like to think it reflect more about who they are as a person than who I am.

What do you think is your biggest strength and weakness --in terms of personality?
I think my biggest strength is my positive, passionate energy and my can-do spirit. I also am someone who is really drive to accomplish my goals.

I think my biggest weakness is taking things too personally sometimes. I'll give an example to be more accurate. I had to rent a costume for a video I was producing for a nonprofit client recently, and the girl working in the rentals department acted like she was inconvenienced that I was there and she was overall just very cold. I am a please and thank you and open the doors kind of person, and sometimes when I don't get a smile or nice conversation in return, I feel like I did something wrong or that the person thinks I'm fake. I am naturally a really outgoing person who smiles at people, greets them and makes a genuine effort to always be very polite and friendly no matter what I'm doing. I'm one of those people who you can tell is smiling is just hearing my voice (on the phone.) I always think a sweet comment or nice interaction with people can brighten someone's day- that's the impact I want to have. So yeah, when I don't get that in return I get a little hurt sometimes.


Where do you like more - Texas or Canada -- will you ever move back to Canada?
I love Toronto. It's a great city. If Toronto had a similar climate to Texas, I would consider moving there. I don't think we will ever move back. I can't take the cold. I love Texas, so it would be hard to leave. i also love the independence of living in a different country. I lived at home all my life and all through college and post-grad and I was always so dependent on others. It's nice to have complete control over my life and choices now. I can get in my car and go anywhere, which is really liberating. I never had my own car until I moved to Texas.

Do you find it harder to maintain relationships with your girlfriends now that you are married?
I see my best friend here in Houston all the time and we talk daily. I sometimes spend entire Saturdays with her. We have a Saturday routine. We go to Pilates class, go to Starbucks and then do a little shopping or errand running together. I need to have strong friendships, so I make my friendship with Candice a priority. I don't break plans, I just make my plans with her as important as the ones I make with my husband. I value our friendship a lot because it makes me a better person. My friendships with my close friends back home are a little more difficult to maintain, but typically I talk to my friends once a week or once every 2 weeks on the phone and lots of email and Facebook messages are sent between then.

How has your relationship with your husband changed since you are married?
I think my husband and I have a very honest relationship. I am a really open person and say what I feel and think all the time. If there is ever an issue, we communicate with each other and talk the issue out until it's solved. He is my best friend. Now that we are married, I am starting to think about him as a father and I know he will just be such an amazing father. I also think we are closer now and on the same page as far as our values and goals. We always had the same values, but now that we are married and building a life together, we get to see those goals and values grow and unravel before our eyes, which is very cool.

Do you ever feel judged by other women? How do you handle it?
I think every woman feels judged by other women, it's sad. I do feel judged sometimes. I've read things people have written about me. I think the largest misconception about me is that fashion and beauty is all I care about and that I have no other goals or interests in life...or that I think I'm "so great" and "so pretty." I just like to do this as a hobby and share my thoughts about a passion I have. It isn't my only passion it's just one of them. I think a lot of people think I'm self-absorbed or into myself because I write this blog, but I think anyone who knows me in real life knows that there is much more to me than this. This is just one little part of my life that I love to share with like-minded women who love the same things I do. I handle being judged by other women by realizing that no one is perfect, and also by understanding that the woman who is judging me is also being judged by other women she is around. I just try not to let it affect me and keep on writing!

What are your goals for the next two years? Five years?
In the next two years I'd like to have moved into a new and larger home and start TTC. In five years, I'd like to have one child and be very successful at my career, balancing work and home life.

My question is sort of a silly one - if you won the lottery (like major jackpot) what would you do with the money?
This is an AWESOME question. If it was so much money that I'd never have to work again, I would probably have 2-3 children, buy an awesome home with a pool, wisely invest a lot of the money (have college funds for all of my kids, etc) take some great vacations...I would probably want to start my own business too...maybe the Pilates studio!!! I would also devote my time to several charities to help them accomplish their fund raising goals and plan special events.

How many hours of sleep do you usually get a night?
Usually 8 hours. I have a really strict sleeping schedule because I need my sleep. last Friday we were at a friend's house till 4 a.m. I didn't have one drink and the next morning I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a bus. Sleep is really important to me. I value it so much. It is good for the soul, the mind and the body and is also good for beauty. They don't call it "beauty sleep" for no reason!

Where do you want to go on your next vacation?
I would love to go to Europe but I don't have enough vacation days to make it worth it to go. I would also love to go to Las Vegas, Hawaii, Fiji...anywhere tropical and awesome would be good! (I've never been to Vegas!)

What is your favorite dessert?
Sour Patch Kids, Cold Stone ice cream, Chocolate mousse cake

How often do you weigh yourself?
I honestly cannot remember the last time I did. Maybe 2 months ago or more? I go by how my clothes fit.

You do something that i do as well, which is to not apply any shadow to the eyelids. i find that my eyes look bigger and clearer w/out it. just wondering what your reasoning was?
I have the kind of eye shape that I just think looks better with simple liner. I think my eyes look better without "too much" stuff on them. Having said that, I do love a smokey eye for the evening. I think eyeshadow would look too harsh on me for daytime. I do think it looks good on other people, just not me. I sometimes use an off white e/s on my entire eye or just my brow bone, but not daily. For me, all I need is a little liner and some shimmer/highlight in my inner corners and I'm good to go!

How often do you shop? i shop online almost everyday, although i don't buy something everyday. plus, i only buy things on sale. i pride myself on never paying full price. unless it's to die for and i can't live without it!
I shop about once a week on average. Usually on a Saturday. I always buy things on sale. Paying full price makes me nauseous just thinking about it!

What do you do for days you're running late?
I don't run late. I am obsessed with being punctual and on time. It is actually a pet peeve of mine when people are late for anything, especially work! I have the same routine every single day. I have one routine for hair washing says (Mondays and Thursdays) and a routine for the days in between. I do the exact same hair and makeup everyday so I have it timed to where I don't ever take longer to do anything. I am a wake up, get ready and go person. I don't linger or eat breakfast at home or watch TV or sip coffee. I am strictly get up, shower, do my makeup get dressed and go. Like I said I am a control freak sometimes, so I like to have my routines and stick to them.

A while ago you were saying you were going to start taking zinc...i just wanted to know if you have been and if you have if you've seen any improvement in your skin or anything? thanks!
You just reminded me I haven't been taking it for the last two weeks! darn! I need to start taking it again...thanks for reminding me! My doctor friend told me recently the pills I got were too much zinc so I have to cut them in half.

xoxo,

Veronika!
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