Monthly Archives: August 2012


by 15 Comments

What’s going on?


I quit my Beauty Advisor job at Macy’s to go be a toddler teacher. I couldn’t be more excited! Imagine working Monday through Friday, having weekends and holidays off. Oh, wait that’s how you all live and function out there. Anyways, I am one of you now! My husband couldn’t be more excited too!

We are also trying to decide whether to stay in our current apartment or move. After we saw the other available apartments in our building, my hopes went kind of down. We currently live in an apartment facing the highway, and I can’t sleep on top of the highway anymore, but we have a lot of sunlight throughout the day, the ceilings are high, and I have a ton of storage space. One of the apartments we saw yesterday was all carpeted, that immediately made me feel claustrophobic. The other one was nice, but the bedroom was facing the dumpster, there was no ceiling light in the living room, and no storage space. And they want $800 a month for those? UGH I am frustrated at the moment. So if you live in downtown Minneapolis and know of a great 1 Bedroom, let me know! Thanks!

I also decided to splurge and take advantage of my Macy’s discount for one last time, and get some stuff for myself (and tomorrow we are shopping for Sam). So I got some Origins!

 

I got Modern Friction and Clear Improvements, have already tried the first one, love it! The samples are of  VitaZing, which I own the full size of and LOVE! and Plantscription Anti-Aging serum! I also got this awesome Origins Mug, and you can decorate it the way you want to! That inside piece comes out and you can stick whatever you like in there :) I tried Modern Friction last night and it’s amazing! The idea is kind of similar to Clinique’s 7 day scrub, but the ingredients are completely different, and so is the effect! Skin is more radiant and soft. Plus it’s not as harsh as Clinique’s scrub, and has a nice scent (as you know all Clinique products are unscented). Okay, you probably all think that I hate Clinique now, I don’t, it’s just there are things that work for some and don’t for others!

I think I will write more about why I decided to quit retail later this weekend, there are some things that I just want to share and get off my chest! One thing for sure – I’ll miss my awesome co-workers!

Have a fabulous day everyone and an awesome Labor Day Weekend!

Cheers,

Z

 

About these ads


by 8 Comments

Maternity Dress Refashion


And no I am not pregnant! This was a freecycled dress that I was originally going to toss, but then I looked at it, and felt bad for it, and since we all saw this today on Facebook, and it’s all true, here is today’s refashion!

Here is the dress:

Adding insult to injury, the straps were originally tied together with a hair tie (? seriously ?)

But it’s a maternity dress alright! See?

I cut off the straps, and the top part, above the folds:

Took it in the back:

Rearranged the straps:

And …

Much better! I was also excited to find a use for that belt I thrifted at the Goodwill outlet!

Also – this is a no sewing machine tutorial! I did it all by hand!

Have a good day! Happy Hump Day!

Xo,

Z


by 9 Comments

Got Elastic? Easy Dress to Skirt DIY


We all have that dress, the one tucked all the way in the back of the closet, the one we don’t wear anymore, because well let’s all say it – it’s embarrassing!

Well, my dress made me look like I was 5! Seriously! Here is proof!

It’s not that bad lying flat on the floor though :) But those sleeves are simply killing me! I can’t believe I bought this back in the day, and more over, wore it to my senior thesis presentation in college :/ What was I thinking?!

But when I was going through my closet this past weekend, I decided it was time to do something about this dress! And yes, when you look at it, it makes perfect sense to turn it into a skirt!

I also added little ribbon loops on the sides to run my skinny belt through:

And ta-da (well not really, I still need an elastic to run through the top) But I was so excited to share this post with you, because I think this is by far one of the best “saves” that I did!

I just can’t get over this pattern! Never will! Have an awesome day everyone!

xo,

Z


by 2 Comments

Quick Pants to Skirt DIY


Today’s post is a quick pants to skirt transformation. I showed you the polka dot madness that was happening in my refashion pile last week, so today I am going to share the quick and easy way of turning a pair of pants into a skirt.

I started off with what I like to call an awkward pair of pants. If I were to be super lazy about this refashion, I would’ve kept them as PJ’s – yes they were that comfy!

What you then want to do is chop off the legs:

And because this skirt would’ve been way too short if I didn’t add on to the length, I cut out strips of fabric from one of the pant legs, added a wide thick ribbon…

Pinned and sewed it all to the edge of the skirt, and ended up with this:

Now all I need to do is wear it somewhere :)

Hope you all had a good weekend! I went wake boarding for the first time, loved it :)

Xo,

Z


by 4 Comments

How Small Shoulder Pads Make A Big Difference (When Removed)


Here is the best thing about freecycling clothes – you never know what you are going to get!
I recently ended up with a lot of polka dots items! Here are 3 of them:

20120823-230430.jpg

I took out little post it notes and wrote how I wanted to refashion those items. One of them being a shirt (that I turn into a blazer in todays post – it was so easy, you are going to fall off your chairs :) )and then the other tfolk polka dots surprises are pants, both of which will get refashioned sometime soon, hopefully this weekend!

The first thing I wanted to do was get rid of the shoulder pads, because they werent rocking my boat!

20120823-230727.jpg

Then I rolled up the sleeves! Since this is a 100% polyester Chaus top, I can’t imagine anyone wearing this as a shirt! Maybe in the winter, but you would still sweat buckets! The tricky thing with polyester though is that when rolled up it doesn’t necessarily hold the intended shape, so I suggest you make a couple stitches and hold that rolled up fold in place, or you can jut safety pin it, if you are like me :) I told you it was going to be easy! And perfect with skinnies:

20120823-231030.jpg

20120823-231050.jpg

Sorry for being MIA – I had training at work – free food and beauty products :) ah – life is good :)
Have an awesome weekend everyone!
Xo,
Zhenya


by 3 Comments

The September Issue


“Vogue came. It’s pretty big” – that’s the text I got from my husband as I was leaving work today. I’ve been waiting for this issue since the last one came! I am serious! I love the September Issue.

But before we look through it together, I want to share a video with you, it’s 100% true, and I encourage you to watch it, and never ever act like this in a cosmetics department!

And now on to the Vogue:

Look how huge it is, compared to the game case:

 

The cover unfolded, as it often does, and revealed those cool covers/shots from December 1892 andNovember 1949. Yes, Vogue is 120 years old! I quickly cut those out, and am planning on framing them ASAP!

 

Couldn’t ignore this Mila Kunis ad for Dior! Yes, that’s how you become an A list actress!

 

This Dolce & Gabbana ad is so Russian to me:

 

Love the new O.P.I nail polish collection,look at how vibrant the colors are. I also had a ball reading the names! Can I please work as the nail polish name creator?

 

This issue was everything that I expected it to be and more! I am also excited and looking forward to trying this sample of L’Oreal’s BB cream

 

And shopping at Target when these new collections come around:

 

And finally, to top it all off, I wore a $140 skirt to work today, that cost me only $11.50! Yes, thrifting pays off my friends :)

 

What caught your eye in the September issue?

xo,

Z


by 4 Comments

Zhenya’s Monday Ramblings


The not so well known “stars” of Russian Dolls, as well as some other women of Brighton Beach got featured in New York Magazine, in an article “Style Tribes: Russian Women of Brighton Beach”. And while some of these women look absolutely gorgeous in their furs and jewels, this photo totally creeps me out. I want to go grab my torch and set out on a witch hunt! Who’s coming with me?

Баба Яга добралась до сокровищ Кощея Бессмертного (Baba Yaga finally got ahold of Koshei’s treasure)

Last Friday I got sent this amazing L’ancome eyeshadow palette in 302 Violet Sweetheart - as some of you may remember I sometimes do consumer testing projects and surveys for L’oreal, and that’s how I get “paid” for it!

I have also been obsessed with finding workouts on Pinterest and pinning them to my Workouts board! How awesome is that? Oh wait, I’ve also been obsessed with doing them! And BodyRockTV! You all should try it!

Happy Monday everyone!

Doodles,

Z


by 3 Comments

Getting Ready for Friday Thrifting


Thursday night.

We just came back from sailing.

I think my face is a little bit sunburnt.

Well it’s probably dehydration as well.

But tomorrow I only work till 2.45 pm.

And my favorite thrift store of all times has a BOGO sale on women’s shoes and clothing.

So I am going!

Straight from work!

But before I go, I need some ideas.

Something specific to look for.

So here it goes!

 

I really hope to score some sweaters tomorrow :) And put outfits together for you!

Xo,

Z


by 5 Comments

And the Winners Are…


Okay, this is way way overdue, I had this Giveaway on my blog, and it’s taken me an extra two weeks to pull it all together and announce the winners, I gotta get better than this!

So here are the 3 winners of the Giveaway 

1. Brande of Victory Vintage Style Blog 

2. Beth of The Renegade Seamstress 

3. And lovely author of Pillows a la Mode 

So ladies, please message me back with your mailing addresses either by emailing evgeniahutson@gmail.com or through Facebook :)

Can’t wait to send your goodies out!

xo,

Zhenya


by 5 Comments

TAG: My Weird Beauty Habits


Hey everyone, how are you? Out of all the possible posts that I can do today, I decided to do this one, and the fact that it’s 4 am and I am awake, speaks for itself! So please forgive me if this post gets a little bit weird, and my mind starts drifting away.

Alright, weird beauty habit number one: I usually wake up in the middle of the night, right around 3.30 am, like today and go get a drink of water, then of course I go check out my face in the mirror, because I want to see if the beauty sleep is working. Does it work when interrupted though? I guess not, anyways that’s when I put more moisturizer on my face, because I feel like my skin is too dry, and for good measure I put some moisturizer around my eyes too! This is what I currently use for my middle of the night beauty routine:

 

 

 

Weird beauty habit number two is more like a confession – I love samples, and small travel sizes of, well of everything! I have about 6 small containers in addition to full size products on my cabinet, some of it is Estee Lauder, some of it is Bobbi Brown, I don’t care what it is, as long as it’s coming in a cute packaging and preferably free :) I am also a sucker for shampoo and conditioner combos. I think I have enough to last me through the next three months without having to buy anything full size, which I am planning on doing. And just yesterday I sat down behind this exact computer, went on my favorite Sweet Free Stuff and got 3 more shampoo/conditioner combos mailed to me. I also love Aveda samples, that come in those cute little boxes – best thing ever! I think I’ll go get some of those tomorrow!

 

My weird beauty habit number three started at work one day, when I was complaining that my hair was too greasy and I needed to go get some dry shampoo. That’s when I was told that Beautiful body powder from Estee Lauder works just like that and even better. So that’s what I’ve been using ever since. Now if you ever come see me at work and notice pink powder on my clothes, know that it’s my wonderful hair emergency go to!

 

And this is what I use at home:

 

Which leads to weird beauty habit number four: I love freecycling beauty products. That’s where Wind Song Body powder in the picture above came from, it was also brand new, and if anyone wants to know it’s $25 on ebay, I just checked :) And yes freecycle is a hit or miss, but a lot of times it’s the latter. I got a huge box of body washes, lotions, etc. about a month ago. Love it, won’t need to buy a body wash or a body spray for the next two years now! Here is a tip though – always check for expiration date, and if there isn’t one – then smell it, if it smells funny, recycle it. I love recycling my old skin care/make up/beauty packages at the Origins counter, they have bins there, so check your local stores!

 

And my fifth and last weird beauty habit that I can think of for today is actually a weird beauty routine that I do when I work out! Here is what I do:

- Put apple cider vinegar mixed with water and lavender or rosemary essential oils on my hair roots, and scalp,

- then I put coconut oil on my ends, which of course means I am putting coconut oil all over my hair ;)

- pull it all in a bun, go run 2 miles or so,

- all this while doing laundry!

Yup I am that good at multitasking :)

(There is a very small workout room in our building right next to the laundry room, so I am kind of killing two birds with one stone, three depending on how you look at it :) )

 

Okay now that you’ve read this post, you’ve all been tagged, so write your own post like that, or simply leave me a comment, I am dying to hear what everyone’s weird beauty habits are :)

And don’t do what I do, don’t write a blog at 4 am :) It’s already 4.40 now, I got side tracked looking up stuff on freecycle :)

Lots of love,

Zhenya

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 2,851 other followers