Jewel Tones & Jewels

I mixed jewel tone colors with neutrals for this look. Before it gets too cold out, light layering works and I get some use out of some of my favorite accessories and jackets before I'm bundled up in a snowsuit!

Jacket (last year), Sweater (sold out), Similar Here

Kate Spade bag (sold out), Sunglasses, Bangle (old forever21), 

Watch, Necklace (last season) similar Here, Shoes

SugaryTuesday!

It's heeeeerrrreeeeeee! It has finally arrived! The Sugar Paper for Target collection has officially hit stores today. If you know me at all, (and for those who don't), I live and die for paper, stationery, pens, stickers, all things alike. Every year I make it my business to get a fancy schmancy planner and half the time I end up using my phone. 

Last year, Sugar Paper Los Angeles made this gorgeous collection of planners, agendas and notebooks for Target and I HAD to have one. I was lucky enough to score one randomly. That's how hard it is to find them in stores and keep them in stock. They are only available for 12 weeks so if I'm speaking your language right now, make it your business to buy one online at the link above or scootch your butt into Target ASAP!

Not only are they so pretty, but they're extremely affordable and it doesn't make me feel so guilty when I get lazy and sometimes swap my planner for my phone out of convenience. 
$100 would make me feel very guilty. $12? Not so much!

The battle between paper and technology will always rage on, but paper always wins!
Hence my excitement for this collection. I ordered mine this morning and I wait with baited breath for the postman to deliver the goodies.

Not many things make me happier than the start of a brand new year with a fresh new planner, a blue pen and a head full of dreams. xo

2015 is upon us, lovebugs!

- V.V.

Bougie Pumpkins from the Patch!

Hi friends!  A few weeks ago, my husband mentions to me that he has never been to a pumpkin patch. *Mind blown*
Upon hearing this, I immediately knew I had to make my his dream come true.
Who doesn't love a pumpkin patch choc full of plump little orange balls of happiness in fields for the pickin'?!

On our vacation, we took a trip over to a farm not far away and plucked ourselves some handsome pumpkins indeed. And because it physically goes against me to just let something be average, I gave my little friends an upgrade if you will.
I present to you "bougie pumpkins"!



First order of business......looking pumpkin patch chic:
Plaid, check. Utility vest, check. Autumn lips and nails, check. Sunglasses, check.
Now I'm ready to farm it up!

 For anyone in/on the Long Island area looking for a reputable pumpkin patch: 
Schmitt's Farms, Melville

When I was younger, I was equally obsessed with making my pumpkins fabulous.

I once used black sequins to make a pumpkin face and it came out pretty spectacular. I put it outside with delight - until it rained and washed away the entire face. So if you do make some fabulous pumpkins of your own, beware of the weather.
*TIP* Average pumpkins outside, bougie pumpkins, inside! lol

Back then, all I had was Martha Stewart's holiday special on TV or magazines for inspiration. Now, with social media and Pinterest, the possibilities are endless.

Check out what I did to my pumpkins this year. Hope this brings you an idea or two.

Naturally white pumpkin (you can paint yours white if you choose), painted the stem with black metallic paint and bought individual letters from Michaels and glued them onto the pumpkin. Wear gloves for the glue - trust me. 

I originally bought a circle stencil to paint the polka dots on.

Big Mess. The stencil didn't adhere to the pumpkin because it wasn't completely flat so I had to wash the pumpkin and do it by hand. Not perfect, but not bad either.

Again, I painted the stem black also.

What is a pumpkin made by Vanessa without a little bling??

I found these stickers at Michaels. Made a simple design and now this little baby is lookin' like a million bucks!

So nice, I blinged it twice!

Naturally white pumpkin, painted a ghost face and left his stem as is because he looked super cute with his "hair" twirled!

This trio is obviously is Halloween themed. I will place the smaller ones on the stairs. 
The others will last me through Thanksgiving and the harvest season. I can leave those displayed on the buffet or around the house. So don't feel like this is just a Halloween project. You will get plenty of use out the pumpkins you decorate should you use different colors and designs. It's not too late to get in the game!

I just LOVE the look of metallic pumpkins. I think they are pretty and fancy and extra special.

My brother and I did these together. I picked an average pumpkin and sprayed it completely through, I found a baby gourd that was less than attractive and gave him the gold makeover also and now he's lookin' mighty fine, eh?! Last, I found a white baby pumpkin, put some tape around it to make a border, sprayed the bottom, let it dry and then peeled the tape off for a fun look.

This is how my brother set it up to be painted - incase anyone wants to spray paint some pumpkins of their own. He used a box and half folded it so the back and sides of the box caught the extra paint. It's such a simple idea, but I couldn't think of that in a million years. I would have just laid the pumpkin down on newspaper and sprayed. Making a mess I'm sure of it. This is why my brother is the "doer" and I'm the "designer". lol
I dream it up and he realistically makes it  happen. Thanks Adam!

Thanks for checking out my bougie pumpkins! I already can't wait to do more next year.
I have so many more ideas!
If you do some bougie pumpkins of your own, please tag me or comment. I would LOVE to hear about and see what you've done!



Happy Harvest my little ghouls!
- V.V.


P.S. My husband really enjoyed the pumpkin patch! I swear. His words, not mine. =)

Tartan Blanket Scarf. (Literally)

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I spent mine doing lots of fun and relaxing things with my husband, family and friends. Saturday, I had a get together with friends for my best friend's son's birthday. What to wear? My Zara scarf to the rescue. 
Towards the evening, the temperature dropped and I used my blanket scarf, for literally just that. A blanket. I wrapped it around my shoulders and arms and kept fashionably warm!

I see many Zara scarves in my future. I've already started an obsession  a collection.
And from the looks of Pinterest and bloggers everywhere, Y'all have too! ;)
Here's how I styled mine this time.

Scarf // Oxford Shirt // Madewell Monogram Tote (sold out) Similar Here //
Booties // Sunglasses // Watch // Opticals // Lipstick: "Lust for Blush" by Maybelline
Photo creds: Paige-y-poo!


Stay warm my little fashies.....

xo
V.V.

Autumn Rebirth & Anniversary trip to Miami!

I'm back! It's been two months since I've come on here to do my thing. I took some time off to get refocused for the Autumn season and I wanted to give the site a fresh new look. 
Soooooo what do you think of the new digs? ;)
Do you like the new design? It's much easier to keep in touch and see what I'm up to on Pinterest and Instagram for those who don't follow. And, I think it's so pretty if I don't say so myself, thanks to this young lady right here: Kay Brighton Designs.
If you're reading this Kay, many, many thanks!

I have so much to share in the upcoming weeks. 
Been doing some shoppin', some decoratin', some cookin', some Fall fashion recon.....
I'm ready to go!

As some of you may or may not know, October 3rd was my one year wedding anniversary. It is completely insane that I've already got one year down in the books. I feel like I just said yes to the man! I'm still considered a newlywed, right? I LOVE being a newlywed and I'm not ready to give up that status just yet!

To celebrate, we decided to spend the weekend in Miami. I have never been to Miami (I know, I know, how is that possible?) and it's been on my bucket list for some time now so when we were thinking of something fun and celebratory to do, it just made sense. 
I figured I would share the trip as my first "welcome back" post for fun.

But before we get into the pics, I wanted to touch on the anniversary gifts.
In celebrating with John, I wanted to revisit the traditional way of anniversary gift giving via "the list". For those not familiar with the list, there's this old as time list of anniversaries by the year and for every year listed, there is a certain material or theme gift that you give each other or to another couple celebrating their anniversary. It's been updated since then so here is a breakdown of both the traditional list and the modern list when purchasing an anniversary gift.

First anniversary gift by the traditional list is paper. First anniversary gift by the modern list is clocks. I was going back and forth on how to be creative and driving myself crazy to keep within these lists and still get the perfect gift. Then on my couch one evening, it randomly hit me. 
Plane tickets to Miami IS paper..... and we took the week off of work to spend together which IS time. Without even knowing it, I already solved my own problem!
So if anyone is interested in giving gifts by "the lists",  I think you should check them out. It's a really fun (and traditional) way to get creative when giving your loved one something special. 

 I am particularly looking forward to my 2nd year anniversary gifts which are "cotton" by traditional list and "china" by modern list. UMMMMMMMM cotton and china????
Do you know what I could do with cotton and china? Hello hot pink Burberry scarf and Kate Spade champagne flutes!  OK,enough of my rambling and greed. Here are some of my favorite shots from our trip....

Airport styling is one of my favorite things. I don't know why, really. I think just because back in the days, flying was such a glamorous thing. Both women and men really wore their best and always made it a point to look fabulous when taking a trip. Obviously, I wont be wearing white long gloves and a gown on a plane these days, but I still think it's important to look put together and polished and not schlubby when traveling.

For those curious, we stayed at the Grand Beach Hotel in Miami Beach and couldn't have been happier. It was a beautiful hotel with excellent amenities and especially accommodating and friendly staff. Gorgeous pools and beach. Clean and elegant. If I went back to Miami, I would absolutely stay here again.

This picture right on top was my view from our room to the right.....and the bottom picture was the view of the bay and the city to the left. Gorgeous. And the room was so gorgeous - I took no pics of the room! HELLO?! What was I thinking? Maybe my husband took some....

Pool side!

The ocean was especially pretty and relaxing.....until I got stung by a jellyfish. Thank goodness it was very mild. Needless to say, I spent the rest of my time on dry land and the pool where the only creatures I needed to watch out for were the kids on vacation doing belly flops over my head. =)

Anniversary dinner at Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse. 

A little shopping on Lincoln road. For anyone who cares, this is what was in my Zara bag!

It was a blast, Miami! Thanks for having us!

xo
V.V.