The Best Birthday Present: A New Bed from West Elm

Last night my husband and I disassembled our old bed and slept on our boxspring and mattress. It was the best sleep I've had in awhile...I was probably super exhausted from pool days and birthday celebrations.

We picked up our new bed today and though our room makeover is not 100% complete, the result is beautiful. I can't wait to show it to you (thanks for helping us pick up our bed in your truck, Todd!)

Here's what we got for the room:

1. West Elm Diamond Tufted Headboard (otter)

2. West Elm Wood Bed Frame (white)

3. West Elm Rope Circles Decorative Satin Pillow (these are from the same line we used on our couch)

4.  West Elm White Lacquer Tray (I used this to display and hold my jewelry)

5. West Elm Parachute Duvet Cover (white)

6. Dark Gray Bed Sheets from Target

7. Z Gallerie Silver Dollar Floral accents (I need to get more of these, I'm obsessed! They are only $2.95 a stem!)

Here's what our bedroom looked like before (the old bed frame was from JC Penny- it's a replica of a Pottery Barn bed, I believe.)

 Now to the AFTER photos:

 Phew! That's a lot of pictures (you can click to enlarge if you want to see more detail.)

I really love the new bed and we are both thrilled to have gotten rid of the foot board! Can't wait to sleep in it tonight :)

I'd still love to add a few accents to our bedroom including mirrored side tables, a large mirror above the dresser and other little touches, but those will all come with time :)

I was iffy about the duvet cover we bought, but I absolutely LOVE it. Once it was on the bed I just felt it was perfection. I wanted white, but I also wanted something with texture so it would be a little more interesting.  I knew the guy from West Elm was right! He was also the one who encouraged me to go with the white bed frame when others told me to go with the dark brown. I am SO happy we got the white. It's modern, fresh and adds brightness to the room.

I chose darker bed sheets because I like the way it contrasts with the white duvet. I also like how the dark gray bedsheets match the headboard. I think it all balances out beautifully.

Overall, I just love the direction our bedroom is going in. It was the most neglected room of our home and I'm just really happy we finally made our room more "us."  It just feels clean and fresh and airy now. More elegant too.  When we first moved into our home, we couldn't afford to get new everything right away, so we started with things we had before and bought some inexpensive furniture. Now, 3 years later, we are finally on our way to having the home we always hoped for. 

I really feel like the way your home looks can affect your happiness levels. I love coming home everyday and seeing things I love and having a serene and relaxing room to sleep in. I'm a very visual and detail-oriented person, so every little touch of decor makes a difference to me. 

Thank you so much for reading and thank you to my lovely husband for such an amazing birthday present! <3

xoxo,

Veronika.

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27, Sunscreen Rave & Birthday Wrap-Up

It's 12:02 a.m. right now, which means my 27th birthday is officially over, and it was such a great one!

I started my day today with a Starbucks Skinny Vanilla Latte and a spinach egg wrap.  Perfection. If only every day could start that way.

Then my husband some friends and I headed to the Four Seasons for some pool time (because really, you can't ever really have enough pool time.)  There were a lot of people there so we didn't stay long, but it was fun and relaxing nevertheless.

After the pool we had mexican food as a late lunch and called it a day.  I spent the rest of the afternoon watching TV and taking naps.

As I woke from one of my naps, I realized I needed to kick it into high gear because um, our bed is coming in tomorrow.  We ordered the West Elm Diamond Tufted Headboard and a new bed frame and it has arrived so we are going to pick it up tomorrow.

I have spent the last 4 hours or so cleaning my entire house. Sometimes I go on these cleaning rampages and I just don't stop until everything is spotless.  I think the cleaning fumes have gotten to me, lol.

Our new bed is my birthday present from my husband and I can't wait to show it to you guys!  Our bedroom is very neglected decor-wise, because I wanted to focus my decor efforts (and budget) on rooms we hang out in all of the time (ie: our living room area.) I can't wait to give our bedroom some much-deserved TLC!  I'm going to get new bed sheets too...and throw pillows...but don't tell my husband... I have a pillow addiction so I have to nonchalantly just buy them at the register acting like nothing's goin' on! (I hope he doesn't read this hehe!)

(this is our headboard, but in the color "otter" which is a darkish gray)

Now onto a review. I mentioned a few posts ago that I had purchased La Roche Posay's new fluid sunscreen (called Anthelios SPF 60).  This is a product I feel is going to be a HG product for me, for so many reasons:

1.  It's a fluid, so you don't have to use a lot and it spreads so easily

2. No harsh scent

3. Leaves skin matte

4. Doesn't look or feel like you are wearing sunscreen

5. Looks incredible under makeup

6. Makeup still looks great hours later, even after being in the sun

 

I believe I paid $29.00 for a bottle of this sunscreen, but since I only use it when I'll be outside for long periods of time (like pool days) the cost feels justified to me.  I really love it.  I know Kiehl's has come out with a similar product called Super Fluid UV Defense but I haven't tried that one.  It is a bit pricier than the LRP sunscreen.

I will definitely post pictures tomorrow. Thank you again to everyone who left lovely comments and birthday wishes. I appreciate you all <3

xoxo,

Veronika.

Ask Me Anything- On Formspring!

Birthday Celebrations- What I Wore

It's 2:30 a.m. on May 30th, 2010, the date that marks my 27th birthday!  I'm still awake because once I stay up past a certain time, it's hard for me to go to sleep!

We went out for a great dinner with a lot of our friends and we had such a blast!  I'm just glad a lot of people who love me were there to celebrate and be merry!

I wore a hot pink dress from Forever 21 to mark the occasion:

I spent a good hour on my darn hair for my birthday. First I blow-dried it and set it in Velcro rollers, and then I curled sections individually with a 1 1/2 inch Hot Tools curling iron (BTW for anyone looking for an amazing tutorial on hair curling, go check out Tiffany D's "How to Curl Your Hair Tutorial)

My hair after velcro rollers looked something like this (and yes, I am wearing no makeup in these pictures. I figured it was about time, and my birthday is a good occasion to do this, no?) As you can see, I have a slightly uneven skin tone and other little imperfections, but overall I don't think it's too horrible. That scar above my lip has been there since I was 7 years old!)

So after the Velcro rollers I used my curling iron to create soft, loose waves. I also have ONE track of human hair extensions in my hair. They are the same length as my real hair, but they added a bit more volume (I curled them with the same curling iron.) I also added a fun feathered headband (from Forever 21):

I'll definitely have to do curls more often...they just take too much time for me to do unless it's for a special event.

Here are some photos from the evening's festivities:

Earlier on Saturday my husband and some friends laid out at the pool. I even played a little pool volleyball! fun! I wore my new VS bikini and a Target cover up. The hat is from Zingara.

 

My best friend got me this amazing birthday cake! Hot pink perfection!

She also bought me some amazing presents including a bottle of Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume which I have been coveting for quite awhile now. THANK YOU Candice!

How gorgeous is that bottle!? Love it!

Thank you to everyone who sent wonderful birthday wishes as well!  

xoxo,

Veronika.

OOTN: A Ruffly Floral Dress for a Date Night & La Roche Posay at CVS

Tonight my husband and I went out for dinner at P.F. Chang's (one of our faves!)  I decided to wear my Zara floral ruffle dress because it was SO hot out today (like 93 degrees) and I wanted to wear something feminine and summery.

I absolutely LOVE this dress.  It is one of my favorites out of all of the ones I own. This was my first time wearing it.

Dress- Zara; Open-faced cardigan- Charlotte Russe; Shoes- Cynthia Vincent for Target

Sigh. That dress is just so lovely.

After dinner we encountered a downpour (that's Houston for you- if you don't like the weather, just wait 15 minutes!) It was like a monsoon rain.

We also saw like 100 cyclists hiding under a gas station roof !!! I've never seen anything like it. They were all crowded there like sardines. I felt so bad for them.  I tried to get a shot...not a good one but you might get an idea if you enlarge it.

I also stopped at CVS because I heard they carry La Roche Posay products.  When I got there, there were only a few products on the shelves. I asked the manager if they had more and he came back with a cardboard box FULL of LRP products. I was glad they had them because I HATE ordering things online. Dear CVS, thank you for carrying these products, it has made my life so much easier.

I got my tried and true Effaclar face wash, a new acne spot treatment and the new Anthelios SPF 60 sunscreen:

La Roche Posay is the best skincare line I've ever encountered. It was orginally recommend to me by a dermatologist when I used to have severe cystic acne and I can't imagine what I'd do without their incredible products. The acne treatment is a new one for me as I usually use their Targeted Breakout Corrector (which is amazing) so I'll report back on it soon! 

I think if you tend to break out, even once in awhile, you should use an acne product preventatively. This has been tremendously successful for me. Every night before bed I apply a thin layer of the acne treatment to my chin area where I used to have bad acne, just to make sure nothing flares up. I also dot Proactiv's Refining Mask on any areas where I either have a developing pimple or I think something might pop up there. This has helped my skin stay clear. Yes, I look like a weirdo before bed, but hey, clear skin is worth it!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!  Tomorrow we are going out for my birthday, which is this Sunday, May the 30th!  I can't believe I'm going to be 27! This year has just flown by!

Oh and on Sunday, my girlfriend and I are seeing the new Sex and the City movie! Yay! What a perfect birthday weekend :)

xoxo,

Veronika.