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This time of year is a great time to reflect on the past several months and all there is to be grateful for. Our mood board for November/December is inspired by living a life with an attitude of gratitude. It is a time to cozy up, be grateful and to spend time with loved ones.
]]>Recipe
Grilled chicken thighs
1 Bag of your favorite Slaw
Cotija cheese
Tortillas
Marinade:
1 lime
1/4c. olive oil
1t. cumin
1t. chili powder
1 clove garlic (minced)
1t. onion powder
salt + pepper
Mix the marinade ingredients together in a medium bowl. Put chicken in a gallon size freezer bag, pour the marinade over the chicken. Refrigerate the chicken in the marinade for 3-12 hours. Grill the chicken until cooked through. Chop the chicken (across the grain), build your wrap, layering the chicken, your favorite slaw mix and top with cotija cheese (or any cheese of your choice). Enjoy!
]]>This month's mood board represents the transition into the season of cozy.
]]>Instead of diving off the deep end into Fall, let's dip our toes in and transition with ease. Don't overcommit, stay organized or reorganize if you need that summer reset. Start transitioning some of your wardrobe or incorporating new pieces such as a hat or neutral colored bag. Simplicity, to us, is living more lightly.
]]>Recipe
6 large bell peppers, in a variety of colors
1 lb. Ground Turkey
1c. sweet corn (fresh or frozen)
12 ounces tomatillos, husks removed
2-3 T. EVOO
2 t. + a pinch of kosher salt
1c. rice (white, brown, whatever's your fave)
1/2 c. finely chopped cilantro
1/4 c. pumpkin seeds
1 large clove garlic, minced
zest of 1 lime
1 ½ t. fresh lime juice
1lb. Monterey Jack or Colby Jack (or a combo)
8oz. Cotija cheese, crumbled
2 T. sour cream
Preheat your broiler with a rack positioned 6 inches from the top. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Halve the peppers lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and white pith. Arrange peppers on the cookie sheet, cut side down, with the tomatillos and corn. Coat the veggies with EVOO, and a sprinkle of the kosher salt. Broil roughly 10-12 minutes until the veggies are lightly charred and the tomatillos collapse.
Heat 2T. EVOO over medium high heat on the stove. Add ground turkey and a sprinkle of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
Remove the tomatillos and transfer to a cutting board to cool.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees (if you're going to eat the peppers same day).
Cook rice according to the package directions. When the tomatillos are cool enough, coarsely chop them.
In a large bowl, stir the rice with the ground turkey, cilantro, pumpkin seeds, garlic, lime zest, lime juice, corn, tomatillos, sour cream (or Greek yogurt if you want to be healthier), cheese and half of the cotija cheese.
Stuff the peppers, dividing the mixture evenly. If you're going to serve at a later time, cover and pop in the fridge for a day or two until you're ready to eat. If you're going to eat them right away, sprinkle the remaining cotija cheese on top and bake until the cheese starts to brown, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven, plate and enjoy!
*Recipe adapted from Wine Food cookbook]]>
In the image above you can see our model is wearing the same oversized striped shirt with long wide leg jeans. The image on the left she put the clothes on with her tennis shoes, but didn't attempt to style it whatsoever. This outfit makes her appear larger than she is and also looks sloppy.
In the image on the righthand side we swapped the model's shoes with a wedge to give her some height, elongating her leg length. In addition we tucked the back of her shirt in to tighten the front of the shirt and give her some shape. Last, we accessorized by adding a tote bag, simple gold letter necklace and earrings.
It's a great way to use the fresh basil that's overgrowing in your herb garden.
Pesto – makes 2 ½ cups
3T. pine nuts
2c. basil
1 clove garlic
Pinch of salt
1/2c. grated parm/Reggiano
3T. grated pecorino
1 ½ c. EVOO
Blend pine nuts, basil, garlic and salt to paste. Add cheese and drizzle in EVOO. You won't use all of the pesto for the pasta alone so make sure you either use it up within a week or two or freeze to use at a later time. Pro tip: pour the pesto into an ice cube tray to freeze individual portions.
Pasta
1lb chicken breast
1 small bottle of Italian dressing
1lb penne noodles
1-2 sweet peppers, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
A handful of asparagus or any other veggies you need to use up in the fridge
Trim the chicken, place in a Ziploc bag with the Italian dressing and marinade in the fridge for 3-24 hours.
Get a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add kosher salt and noodles and cook. Drizzle the chopped veggies with EVOO, kosher salt and pepper. Grill for ~10 minutes, stirring them once halfway through. Grill chicken breast for ~10 minutes, flipping halfway through. When the chicken is done either shred or slice depending on your preference.
Throw everything in a big bowl with the pesto, stir to coat, serve and enjoy!
]]>Take a look at the chart below to help determine your face shape.
To give you a better idea, take the round face shape for example, it is an equal distance across as it is long; whereas the square face shape is going to be equal distance across the eyebrow/forehead as the jawline.
Now that you know your face shape, it is important to know what the different necklines are before we break it down into which necklines you should be wearing.
Now that you've seen the different necklines, let's move into which is best for which neckline.
Do wear: Sweetheart and V-necks
Avoid: Scoop, Off-shoulder, and Boat neck
Do wear: Sweetheart, Scoop, V-neck and Cowl
Avoid: Boat
Do wear: Off-shoulder, V-neck, Boat neck
Avoid: Sweetheart and Scoop
Do wear: Sweetheart and Scoop
Avoid: Off-shoulder, Boat, and V-neck
Do wear: Off-shoulder, Boat, Cowl
Avoid: Sweetheart and Scoop
Do wear: Crew neck, Scoop, Turtleneck
Avoid: V-neck and Sweetheart
If you'd like to learn more about face shapes and how to best dress for you, reach out to hello@vezastyle.com to setup a personal styling session with our expert stylist.
Best Party Décor Shop
Queen City Balloon Bar
A boutique balloon shop and balloon décor & delivery service. They provide completely custom, luxury balloons and balloon bouquets. Specializing in bigger-than-normal balloons they want to help you create the "wow" for your next gift or event!
Best Designer Eyewear
Studio 20/20
Located on Phillips Ave in downtown Sioux Falls, they offer high-end eyewear and a unique boutique experience. Carrying both prescription and non-prescription eyewear, they offer brands like Prada, Gucci, Tiffany & Co., Versace, Burberry, Giorgio Armani, Cartier, Tom Ford, and more.
Best Flower Shop
Bella Rosa Flower Market
A full-service flower shop offering colorful and creative designs. They also offer a selection of home décor and great gift items in their shop located at 8th & Railroad.
Best Place to Pamper Yourself
The Spa on Phillips
Offering several different options for massages, facials, manicures and pedicures, the staff at The Spa on Phillips will provide you with a luxurious experience allowing you to feel your best.
Best Restaurant
Parker's Bistro
Parker's focuses on chef-driven cuisine sourced with local intent. In addition to the thoughtful cuisine, which includes several gluten free options, they offer an amazing wine list, fantastic service and a ambiance that will lure you in.
Best Dessert Shop
CH Patisserie
"Top Chef" from Season 2 of Bravo's Top Chef: Just Desserts, Chef Chris Hammer opened his namesake patisserie 10 years ago. It is a sweet slice of France in the heart of downtown Sioux Falls. Don't leave without a few macarons and one of the cheesecakes.
Best Store for the Home Cook
Plum's Cooking Company
This beautiful space is a dream come true for those who appreciate their time in the kitchen. Stop in for some olive oil and kitchen gadgets to go or stay for a while end enjoy a cooking class with one of the experts.
Which bucket do you fall into? Do you gravitate toward a certain color? Leave us a comment below.
If you're interested in learning your best colors, reach out to us at info@vezastyle.com to request your personal Color Analysis appointment.
]]>Accessories can make or break the outfit. They can take a casual tee and jeans and elevate the look to sophisticated and even elegant. How do you accessorize? We suggest owning pieces that hold meaning! If you love a piece because it means something to you or if that particular piece has a story to it, you're more likely to gravitate toward it and feel good while wearing it.
Accessories go beyond just a necklace and bracelet. This category also includes, hats, handbags, glasses, scarves, brooches, pins, and even the lip color you choose. While you don't need every single category in one outfit, using a few simple pieces to dress up your outfit on any given day can make you go from feeling drab to fab in a matter of seconds. We challenge you to dress up your tee and jeans this week. How will you elevate your outfit?!
]]>Everyone should have at least four types of clothing in their closet:
In addition to the categories listed above you're going to want to add sub-level categories, which are:
Take everything out of your closet (and I mean everything!!) and put it into piles. Is it a keep? Donate? Throw? Try not to throw it unless it's damaged. If it is damaged, is there a different way you could use it? If you're keeping it, then you'll put it into one of the four categories listed above.
Review your empty closet and decide where it makes sense to put things. Is there an area that makes sense for folded sweaters? Should your jeans be folded or hung on hangers? Designate areas of your closet based on the four clothing categories listed above and whether they're folded items or hung.
Start folding the clothes that need to be folded and hang the clothes that need to be hung. Did you know there's a certain way that's best to fold your clothes? Melissa Maker of Clean My Space walks you through how to best fold clothes in How to Fold Clothes Like a Pro.
Organize your clothes by color within each category. Do this for both the hanging and folded items. Lightest to darkest within each color makes it easier for your eyes to catch what you're looking for. If your folded items go in a drawer, don't stack them, put them standing up across the drawer. If folded clothes are on a shelf, stacking is ok as you can see what everything is from the side. Things that are buried and hard to find don't get worn!
Work by category and get the items you're keeping to their designated space in your closet. Once complete, pour a glass of wine, stand back and marvel over your beautiful closet!
Does a closet cleanout sound like more of a commitment than you're willing to sign up for? Not a problem, at Veza we offer closet cleanout as a service. We come to you and work with you to make your closet the best it can be. Email info@vezastyle.com for details. ]]>
My name is Ondrea and I am the owner of a beautiful women's boutique in downtown Sioux Falls, SD. I moved to Sioux Falls from Minneapolis, roughly two years ago after my husband accepted a job in Sioux Falls.
How do you buy a boutique?
When we first moved to Sioux Falls I was running my own marketing consulting firm and found a cute little boutique in downtown Sioux Falls that I loved to shop at. They quickly became a client of mine and a few months after working with them (formerly TH Grey), the owner informed me she was planning to sell. I never imagined owning a boutique, especially never having worked a day of retail in my life, yet somehow we ended up buying the boutique and here we are just over a year later.
Why change the brand name?
TH Grey was often mistaken as 'The Grey', it wasn't super Google friendly as Google always autocorrects TH to the, and the name didn't hold any personal meaning to me. It was important that our new store have a name that is simple, meaningful, and memorable. After nearly 9 months of making lists, discussing with friends and family, making up words, Veza came to light and I knew we had landed on the name.
Why Veza?
The definition of Veza is connection. My absolute favorite part of owning the store is connecting with all of the people we work with including customers, visitors, vendors, you name it. It's simple, meaningful, and (will hopefully be) memorable.
We aim to create an experience that is bigger than "just shopping", something we hope you'll remember forever. We welcome you to visit us!
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