Spring Fever: New Sheets & Home Accents

Most of the ladies around the country can relate---it's FREEZING outside.  My deepest sympathies to everyone dealing with the awful snow outside right now. Ick!  I kind of hope the weather stays chilly for the weekend because H and I are continuing with our mission to organize the house and this weekend we're tacking the storage closet.

As some of you know, we would like to put our home on the market sometime this year.  I'm really working hard on refining our home, re-organizing, de-cluttering and donating things we no longer use.  In this market, it's so important to have a clean, organized home and it doesn't hurt if its got a little style either (gotta stand apart from the competition, right?)

My goal is to have very clean and spa-like bathrooms, warm and cozy bedrooms and a clean and modern kitchen/living room area. 

One change I've made recently is switching out my soap dispensers. It sounds like such a small thing (and it is) but it can make a big impact.

 (All from Bed, Bath and Beyond)

I think it just looks so much cleaner than a bottle of Dove dish soap. It's also a lot cheaper---we used to buy bath and body works soaps for all of our bathrooms and kitchen. I always buy them on sale, but it adds up.  I like the look of the clear soap- simple, clean, easy.

I decided I wanted to bring a little more brightness to our master bedroom, so when I saw this beautiful duvet cover and pillows on sale at Brocade Home, I had to have them for our bed:

butternut moroccan sham

butternut moroccan duvet 

I also got these nifty Euro shams from West Elm to go with the Brocade set
(I like to mix patterns in the same color family): 
Organic Carved Circles Sham

I can't wait for the duvet cover and pillows to arrive!  I really love the look of gray and yellow together.  Brocade also has this gorgeous purple set, but I decided we already have a ton or purple in our living room so it was nice to mix it up and make it a little "sunnier" in the bedroom.

I really look forward to sharing my continued home progress with you ladies!  I always find myself wanting to clean and redecorate as we near closer to spring!

xoxo,

Veronika.

Exhausted---Sunday Cleaning

This morning, I started my day off right and had a session with my trainer.  It was such a wonderful way to end my weekend.  After that, I went grocery shopping---and though that's already a pretty good amount of effort for a Sunday, I had another task on my mind.

Cleaning. Like a deep cleaning. Like a "we moved the couches" kind of cleaning. I started the cleaning frenzy as my H went to the gym and then when he got home we did some teamwork cleaning---everything from dusting to vacuuming, to windexing to cleaning the hardwoods.  I lit a bunch of Bath and Body Works holiday scented candles too so it smells so lovely in here.

It was a lot of work, but now our home looks so organized and clean---it's such a stress reliever! 

I know ya'll have seen our home before, but I was playing around with my new camera after we cleaned so I thought I'd include these shots:

Ahhhhhhhhhh........clean feels good!

Hope you had a lovely weekend!

xoxo,

Veronika.

An Outfit of the Day & De-Cluttering My Life. De-Clutter with Me, Dear Readers

Lately I've been feeling the need to de-clutter my life. My goal this week is to start with our bathroom.  I'm going to get rid of (and possibly donate to a woman's shelter) unopened products, things I'll never use etc.  I just have so much STUFF...hair products, lotions (I don't even USE lotion) etc. I just need it gone!

Since I've been in house-mode lately, I've been thinking about all of the little things we need to do in the next 6 months or so before it goes on the market. Little repairs and improvements. I told my H that maybe I'll spend my weekends home-improving instead of shopping...we'll see how that goes :)

Here's what I wore to work today:

Cardigan- Charlotte Russe

Top- Costa Blanca

Skirt- Target

Shoes- Michael Kors

Bag- Kate Spade

Belt- J.Crew

Necklace- Forever 21

I'm still going to work on setting up my camera tripod, I promise! I also really really want to make a video for you ladies of my closet and makeup/storage.  I just have to de-clutter and organize everything to how it's supposed to be, and then I'll record those (and uh, learn how to edit videos too...this could take awhile!)

Do you ever feel the urge to just de-clutter your life? Do you ever wonder where all of that STUFF came from?  I'm no hoarder (I'm actually more of an eliminator) but I tend to eliminate things less often, but in huge amounts. I actually read an article today from the LA TIMES titled "Are you addicted to cosmetics?"  I don't fall into the category they described, but I think we can ALL learn a lesson from the article.

I know there are a lot of makeup gurus out there on YouTube and in the blogging world who seem to buy several items from every MAC collection and are always trying out new foundations, bronzers, hair products, etc...  

I always wonder how they use so much makeup, but the truth is, they can't.  The difference between those gurus (and myself) is that they review and do makeup tutorials for a living, so having access to all of those products is beneficial and enhances their blog or channel.  But for a girl like me who basically wears the same makeup everyday, it's just kind of wasteful.

For example, I have an entire drawer in my makeup storage case just full of pink lip glosses. I don't even really wear lip gloss.  I sometimes use a lip conditioner or dab on some very subtle pink lipstick...yet for some reason, I'm always "sucked in" by pink glosses.  Why do I buy them? They just sit there for weeks, months...dare I say it, years? (I've had to throw many away throughout the years.)

I've made a conscious effort lately to avoid buying products that are either too "in my comfort zone"- in the sense that I already have something almost exactly like it and too "out of my comfort zone" - something I'll use once but never return to.  At the end of the day, it just adds clutter.  Now this doesn't mean I won't try new things, I just don't plan on trying things if it's something I basically already have. Like PINK LIP GLOSS!!!

My blog sale was a very cleansing experience for me.  It just made me feel good that the clothes were going to good homes while I also benefited by getting more room in my closet and less clutter!

So, tell me ladies, do you ever feel overwhelmed at all of the STUFF you have? Whether it's cosmetics, hair products or clothes?  Let's all post what we need to purge in the comments and then take steps towards doing it!

Got makeup that's so old it's crusting? Toss it!

Got 3 bottles of unopened shampoo that you swore you'd use forever and never do? Donate to a women's shelter!

Got tons of clothes that don't fit, don't look good, too short, too long etc? Sell it on eBay, swap with friends or donate it!

Got old styling tools that still work but are gathering dust? Donate them or give them to a friend who might need a curling iron!

Let's de-clutter ladies!

xoxo,

Veronika.