Secrets Don't Make Friends

If anyone is still out there, you may have noticed I don't blog here anymore.

I've moved here: Capital K

I've been secretly blogging there for awhile now. I'm sorry to have kept it from you, but I'm ready for you to come hang out with me over there now.

So come join the party, will you?

xx, Katrina

Friday Favorite: Chambray Shirts

What: Chambray Shirt (the one above is from J.Crew Factory, but there are tons of other options out there!)

Why: It goes with e v e r y t h i n g. No joke. You've seen them all over the place for a reason. A good one will be soft, faded, and just slightly over sized. That's the way I like them, anyway. I literally wear mine every single weekend and sometimes during the week. I actually have three different chambray shirts now so I can rotate them. I am obsessed. I am wearing one right now.

The moral of this blog post is: go buy a chambray shirt.

Throwback Thursday

I've been feeling really uninspired with my closet lately. I love everything that's in it, but I just can't seem to motivate myself to put together anything even remotely creative.

So I thought it might be fun to dig back through the archives and pick out some of my old favorites from back when I was still taking outfit pictures.

This is from my birthday last year:

Look at my color blocking! And high heels! And dangly sparkle earrings! Dang girl, looking good. This shirt is still on heavy rotation, along with the eleventy billion other silky blouses I have purchased because they just go with everything.

I have to get better at mixing and matching with my crazy colors. I miss them.

For example, today I wore a blue oxford shirt and black pants. Who am I?! The most boring person ever, apparently.

Guest Post: Girl in the Poodle Shoes

This is my first ever guest post exchange and I could not be more excited to be doing it with Casey of Girl in the Poodle Shoes! 

I actually met Casey at the very first Boston Blogger Meetup I ever went to, back in February 2012. It is SO out of my comfort zone to drive into Boston and meetup with a bunch of people I don't know. I really can't believe I went. But I'm so glad I did, since I met some really wonderful people and found some really great blogs (including Casey's!). I pretty much just clung to her the entire night because we seemed to hit it off so well.

Since then we have had a delightful lady date in Harvard Square, complete with knock-your-socks-off good hot chocolate, a few more blogger meetups, and a clothing swap mixed in there somewhere. 

Anyway, Casey is an amazing style blogger who has the cutest closet ever. I want to steal everything in it. She is the queen of the printed pant and statement necklace and basically looks like she stepped out of a J. Crew catalog all the time. You should all definitely hop over there (after you read her guest post!) and check it out.

Oh hey Sparkle is a Color readers! I’m Casey from Girl in the Poodle Shoes blogging here for the day.

If looking back on the past few months’ worth of my blog posts have taught me anything, it’s that I have a slightly unhealthy obsession with crazy pants that I just can’t seem to shake. Not saying that I’ve tried to shake the crazy, but rather that I’ve given up and decided to embrace it. Hardly a day goes by that I’m not wearing outrageous bottoms. Neon, leopard, metallic, you name it—I have a pant for it.

I tried to tone down the craziness factor when I wore them to work the other day by pairing them with my simple navy top from Ann Taylor and my “tin mans” a.k.a. metallic silver pointy-toed flats. Whenever I wear something that’s on the statement end of the spectrum to work, I make it a point to keep the rest of my outfit very simple. Although I will admit the silver flats might be pushing the definition of “simple” here.

It was love at first sight with these silver flats from J. Crew after seeing them and their heeled version on various bloggers. It seemed to me that they somehow magically went with everything—and I swear they do. In addition to these pants, I wear them with jeans, leggings, my snakeskin pants, I’d even wear them with a dress come summertime (I think). I have come to believe that metallic shoes can really dress up an outfit. They’ll even add a glam factor to a simple t-shirt and distressed jeans for a daytime high-low look.

Top: Ann Taylor

Pant: H&M

Shoes: J. Crew

Bracelet: J. Crew

Shades: Anthropologie

Lipstick: Nars "Schiap"

Coat: J. Crew

North Carolina March 2013

At the beginning of March I flew down to North Carolina to visit my BFF Helen. Her birthday was the 9th and mine was the 13th so we thought a little birthday visit was in order and our lucky stars aligned and made it possible (but we missed G SO BAD :). 

The day I left the weather was NASTY in New England. Gross sleety snowy windy gross. But my flight took off on time, thank you JetBlue! We did have to be de-iced before we could take off, which I've never experienced before. Basically trucks come by and spray the plane with industrial windshield wiper fluid.

By the time we reached altitude there were blue skies and white puffy clouds, though! I legit only took pictures on the plane or while traveling because I was alone. We took zero pictures while we were together, which is shameful. Then again, all we did was eat and nap and relax. It was GLORIOUS. Work has been so stressful and it was perfect to just get away and disconnect and not have to do anything strenuous, haha. I read the entire first book of Beautiful Creatures. I am feeling "meh" about them so far. I'm halfway through the second one now.

That's Charlotte, that tiny grouping of buildings up there. I tried to take a comparable picture of Boston, but the airport isn't in a good location for it. Charlotte just looks so sad and lonely sitting there like that.

knf

Oh we did get tattoos! Duh. That was our birthday gift to ourselves/each other, we went and got tattoos! Mine means "what will be, will be" in Italian. Or it should. I sure as hell hope it does. ;)

I love traveling, but there's nothing like coming home. I was actually glad to see the snow on the ground when I got back! Damn you, New England. I just love to hate you.

Friday Favorite: Barre Workout

On Wednesday night G and I went to our first ever real life barre class. I told you guys we'd been doing some DVDs and loved them, so when a LivingSocial deal to a popular place in the area popped up we snagged it.

We are addicted.

We are going to go broke going to barre classes. Why is fitness so expensive?! It's $15 a class, man. If you only go once a week that's still $60/mo. More expensive than some gym memberships. Life is cruel.

So we're saving all our monies to do this. Because it is awesome. You should all try it out for yourselves. Get some DVDs, YouTube that shit, go to a class if you can. This is a no joke workout that is also super fun.

That's a picture of G and I up there. It was taken at A bar, not AT barre. Why is my head so much larger than normal people's heads?

Must be my big, super intelligent brain.

Anyway, this is what people doing barre look like:

When I told a co-worker I went to a barre class she said "Do you dress like ballerinas?!" and was disappointed when I said no. I'm sure we could dress like ballerinas if we wanted to. Maybe next time.

My calves and booty and thighs are keeeeling me. I love it.

Friday Favorite: Hoodie Footie

What: The Hoodie Footie

Why: Um, look at this thing. It could not BE any more cozy and comfy. This is your best friend when you are sick, cold, sad, happy, have no more clean clothes....It's really a romper for all occasions. Made out of the softest material ever. So you look like you're wearing the bunny costume from A Christmas Story. Doesn't matter. It's worth it.

Price: $79.99, which is obscene. I only own this because someone gave it to my mom as a gift and she didn't want it. YOUR LOSS, MOM.

And because I don't really care what people on The Internet think of me, here is a picture of me wearing mine. You're welcome.

February 2013 Recap

So it's been March for two weeks, but here I am.

February was such a short month, it was over before it really began. I didn't do a heck of a lot. It's my least favorite month - the depths of winter, no days off of work, ugh. Luckily that it IS short.

It was a good month for me this year - at least I have no bad memories of it. If I'm going to continue doing recaps I really should be better at documenting what the hell I did all month. Because damned if I remember.

Mostly I stayed home, puttering. My horoscope told me to lay low, so I did just that.

Did I tell you guys I've been doing the Physique57 workouts? A friend of mine told me about the DVDs, so naturally I ran right off and bought them. I am obsessed. They're hard enough to be a challenge, but not so difficult they're impossible. My friend and I loved them so much, that when a LivingSocial deal for barre classes popped up we snagged it. We cannot wait to try an actual class. We will probably die.

I also went to another Boston Blogger meet up! I hadn't been to one in so long (because I basically stopped blogging) so it was nice to see some familiar faces and meet some new people, too! Above is what I wore. Pardon the crappy mirror pic and the general mess of that room. Those are amazing floral silk trousers. YES. 

 I'm pretty much the worst at networking at these things, though. I forget I'm supposed to be talking about my blog, so when people ask "What do you blog about?" I inevitably answer "Meh, stuff? Like, my life? I guess." So eloquent. But I mean really, what is this blog? I write about spying on my landlord and things I like. It's a weird place.

Anyway, I have some post ideas in the works, so hopefully things will be picking up 'round here! No promises though. You know me.

27th Birthday

Celebrating my birthday today! Out for Thai at work and chocolate cake. Had these gorgeous flowers sent to me, and the weather is beeeeyoutiful. Twenty-seven, I like you so far.

Happy Birthday Best Friend!

Wishing a very, very happy birthday to one of my very bestest friends today!

Thank you for always being there and keeping me on the safe end of the crazy spectrum. I don't know what I would do without you!

Also, before you get mad I posed that first picture on the Internets, I only did it as photographic evidence we are only getting better looking with age. Next year we'll be blinding people with our beauty.

She Came In Through the Bathroom Window

So, I locked myself out of my apartment Saturday morning.

It was traumatic.

I had Mia (my mom's dog) over for a sleepover Friday night because it was her birthday. Jamie, our best friend (and human), came over on Friday night for some pizza and dranks. So Mia was psyched and that was her birthday gift from me.

Saturday morning I woke up and needed to do laundry. My apartment has a back door, which is the one I regularly use, and a front door, which leads to the front hall and only gets used when I'm doing laundry. The back door has a lock on the door knob and a deadbolt lock. The front door just has a deadbolt lock.

I grabbed the laundry and headed for the front door. Mia tried to follow me, but the basement is really not even safe for humans so my precious puppy definitely is not allowed down there. "Stay here!" I told her, and closed the front door.

I closed the front door.

The deadbolt clicked into place. Shit.

I turned the handle, hoping that by some miracle it didn't catch and lock. No such luck. Okay, can't get back in that way. I went down and put the laundry in. What else was I supposed to do? These towels weren't gonna wash themselves. I figured I could get outside from the basement and just use the spare key I keep hidden to get in through the backdoor. I was in my pajamas, but this would be super sneaky and no one would see me.

Then I remembered that I lock the deadbolt on the back door at night. Dammit. If only I wasn't afraid of someone breaking in and killing me in my sleep! I hoped that maybe I'd forgotten to lock the deadbolt the night before, just maybe. So I went to open the bulkhead that opens into the backyard. Nope. It was either super stuck or locked from the outside. My only other option was the front door. That opens directly on to a busy street.

I am wearing boxer shorts and a tshirt and it's March in New England. I dug a trench coat out of storage so now I look like I'm naked except for a trench coat and slippers, and I head out the front door and hustle around to the back and get my spare key.

But sure enough, the deadbolt is locked. I start to whimper to myself as Mia barks on the other side of the door.

"Lassie! Unlock the door Lassie!" I called inside. Silence. Then the pitter-patter of paws walking away from the door.

Jerk.

I am completely locked out with no hope of getting inside. Landlord is away for the weekend (or at least I assumed, since he hadn't been home in a day or so) and Frank Next Door wasn't home either. That ends the list of neighbors I've spoken to. I wanted to cry.

I had no choice but to try and break in. There's a window on the porch which I obviously keep locked to keep out those killers I worry about. I contemplated breaking the window to unlock it but then decided I'd better look for other options first.

I settled on the bathroom window, because it just so happened to already have a missing pane so I could reach through and unlock it, and it also happened to have a pile of wood under it that I could put a deck chair on top of and climb up to the window.

So, my apartment is totally killer-proof.

I climbed up my makeshift ladder and shoved that damn window open and me and my trench coat and boxer shorts flashed everyone driving by at that moment as I heaved myself through the window.

I was in!

I hurried to find poor Mia, who I was sure would be a nervous wreck. I knew I was shaken up and traumatized and so happy I managed to MacGyver my way back into my apartment.

She was sitting in the living room with her toy, happy as a clam. She looked up at me as if to say "Oh hey, you're back! That's nice."

Jerk.

Landlord Files II

 

Came home on Valentine's Day to a note taped to my door. "A secret admirer!" was my first thought.

Nope, just the landlord.

Yes, his dad is the REAL landlord. As in, I think he's the one that owns the house since I write the checks out to him. It takes him a month to cash the checks normally, so this was really torture.

A friend also told me this looked like "serial killer handwriting" when I showed the note to her, so there's that. She also thinks he keeps his girlfriend chained up in his apartment which is why no one ever sees her. But that's another story.

 

Last Week

Last week was an ass kicker. Meetings all day every day at work. We're reorganizing our department AGAIN, and man is it exhausting.

By the time the weekend rolled around I felt like I'd been run over by a truck and all I wanted to do was be a vegetable. Which is exactly what I did. Luckily the weather cooperated and it was snowy and windy and cold and perfect for staying in the house all weekend and not putting on real pants.

Sometimes you just need to hibernate, you know?

This week has been quieter luckily. Today I'm feeling pretty exhausted though, and the only cure is flannel, a comfy couch, and sleepy time tea.

I think I really just want spring.

Happy Valentine's Day!

xoxo

The Landlord Files

So. I kind of stalk my landlord.

Maybe not stalk, per se, but I consider myself very tuned in to his life.

Okay, maybe not "very tuned in" so much as I observe what I can and then make up stories about him.

This is normal, right?

We live in a two family house. He lives upstairs and I live downstairs. We both live alone. Like he's not making stories up about my life too.

For instance, when I first moved in he said he was hardly ever home because he stayed at his girlfriend's all the time.

This is false. He is ALWAYS HOME. And he NEVER MOVES. Like, he is the most sedentary person I've ever witnessed. I never hear him walking and he barely leaves the house. He used to go to work every morning (I think he does construction? He dresses like he does, anyway), but a few months ago he just kind of stopped.

So naturally I assume he lost his job and his girlfriend broke up with him. Which was sad. So I was all "Landlord, me too. Well, not the job, but we are both here alone. Should we like, party or something? I notice you recycle an awful lot of beer bottles. I'm always down for a drink. You wanna come down and watch the Bachelor Monday night?"

Okay, I didn't actually say any of that because despite the fact that we sort of live together, I never see him. And I wouldn't talk to him if I did. I'm afraid he'll ask where Ex-Boyfriend went and it will be A Situation. So I'm just hoping he's as dumb as I think he is and he hasn't noticed.

So for now I just observe and judge. I'm sure this is normal...right?

January 2013 Recap

Well 2013 is here and I feel like it's kicking my ass a little bit. January was a hard month.

Things at work got iffy there for a few weeks and it was rough. Happily, things have settled down and are looking up. I'm glad that was short lived. Is there any worse feeling than hating your job and panicking about what you're going to do about it? Well yeah, actually, there are. Which brings me to my next point:

Breakups are hard, man. I'm going to leave it at that.

On the bright side, I did reach my fitness goals for January! I'm back into a workout routine. It sadly doesn't include nearly enough cardio right now, because I cancelled my gym membership (yup, the only person in the world who cancels a gym membership in January) and I'm waiting for the new one they're putting in at work to be open.

I did manage to run outside on a couple of warm days so that was good. Most importantly, I lost five pounds! Ten more to go! I'm aiming for four or five pounds a month, so I'm glad I at least got that off to a good start.

Not much else happened in January, apparently. I bought a heated blanket and saw Les Mis, according to Facebook.

Speaking of movies, I also saw Silverlinings Playbook. SO GOOD. GO SEE IT NOW. For real you guys.

February is off to a promising start, though I'm still in hibernation mode. It IS winter, after all. I'm okay with this. I am sticking by my Winter of Me philosophy and spending time with myself. It may seem boring and antisocial, but it feels right, so it must be what I need right now. I'm a big believer in going with your gut.

I'm not sad to see you go, January. February: please be kind!

Nemo 2013

Don't know if you heard, but New England was pummeled with a major snowstorm on Friday and Saturday (named Nemo, we apparently name snowstorms now). I went to stay at my mom's on Friday night and didn't make it home until this morning. We weren't even allowed on the roads until after 4pm on Saturday. It was crazy pants, yo.

Digging out yesterday took forever, and people were still digging out today. We got at least two feet of snow, more in some places. You can see how much it was from the picture of my car that took FOR-EV-ER to clean off and in the last picture the fence that is nearly covered. It was fun being snowed in, but let's keep out fingers crossed that this was the first and last storm of the season!

Friday Favorite: Clarisonic Mia

I'm bringing back the Friday Favorite!

It's easy to write. I will never run out of Favorite Things. And I love sharing my favorite things with people.

We're jumping back in with my beloved Clarisonic Mia brush:

What?: Clarisonic Mia Skin Care System. I have the blue one, just like above, but it comes in a bunch of different colors (and patterns)!

Why?: It gets your skin super clean and soft. Seriously, the best thing ever. I can definitely see a change in my skin. It's clearer and smoother than ever. And obviously, the more often you use it, the better the results. I use it once a day at night, but I'm thinking about bumping it up to twice a day. Winter is the ideal time to really break out this bad boy. In the summer I use it a bit less, since I don't want to exfoliate off what little tan I get on my face. Terrible, I know.

How much?: $120. Worth every penny. You do need to switch out the brush head every so often, and those cost $25. They recommend every three months but I may have gone a year before I replaced mine...oops. I'd say you can use your own discretion on this. I'm sure they get germy and gross, but I gave mine a good scrubbing every once in awhile and it was fine.

Tote-aly

I have a million tote bags. Free ones I've collected over the years, ones for carrying my groceries, ones for my gym stuff...but none of them are particularly classy. Or even remotely nice. Since one of my goals this year is to spend more mindfully, I've been thinking about tossing all my ratty looking bags and replacing them with something classic I can keep for years. Here are a few I'm particularly loving:

1. Zara Large Shopper // 2. Madewell Transport Tote // 3. J. Crew Tartine Tote // 4. Longchamp "Le Pliage"

I think I"m leaning towards the Madewell tote. It's my favorite go-with-everything color and I like the simplicity of it. What do you guys think?

Know When to Walk Away, Know When to Run

I can't think of a time when I have ever regretted quitting something. I have quit quite a few things in my life and I don't look back on any of them and think "Man, I wish I'd stuck with that."

I've quit tee-ball, figure skating, gymnastics, dance classes, cheerleading, and playing the flute. I quit a job at a clothing store. I dropped multiple classes in college. I've quit diets, exercise programs and activity groups. I climbed almost to the top of a mountain once, then, with the peak in sight, decided I'd had enough.

People always make such a big deal about quitting something. "Don't quit," they tell you, "you'll only regret it." Or, "What a quitter! I can't believe you!" But I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Why continue doing something you don't like? Something that isn't making you happy, or leaving you with a sense of fulfillment?

It didn't matter to me if I made it to the top of that damn mountain or not. It still doesn't bother me now. I despised figure skating. I had no qualms about leaving that behind. Quitting isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of being in tune with who you are and what you want.

Of course, there are some major things that can't be quit so easily. They might require planning and strategizing. People might be relying on you not to quit. Sometimes you have to stick things out even though you really don't want to. As we get older, life becomes more and more filled with things we have to do, even though we don't want to. That's why I think it's so important to get rid of the things we can. The annoyances, the chores, the drudgery.

It's something I've been thinking about a lot lately. What can stay in my life, what can go. What I want more of, what I want less of. The conclusion I've come to is that sometimes it's okay to be a quitter.

Winter of Me

So this needs to be addressed on here in order for this blog to progress as I want it to, so I'm just going to come right out and say it: Boyfriend and I are no more. We broke up. After eleven years together we found ourselves headed in completely different directions and it made more sense for us to go our separate ways.

I painstakingly edited this photo. I am calling it "THE SADNESS". Ironically taken at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Yes, it is very sad and upsetting. No, it is not the end of the world, or the end of my life. I am also hopeful I won't become a spinster. The jury is still out on that one.

Boyfriend and I are still friendly, for which I am extremely grateful. Being together as long as we had been, it would have been much more difficult, I think, if we had had an angry and awful breakup. I am glad that isn't the case.

It's been a few months since we broke up, and when it first happened I was adamant that I would take this time for myself and really focus on who I am, who I want to become, and all the goals I hope to accomplish. Not that he was ever holding me back from any of those things, but I'm sure you'll agree that doing things on one's own can sometimes be so much easier. So, I vowed to make this winter the Winter of Me.

I'm focusing on becoming the best possible version of myself. I don't plan on accomplishing this in one season, but I'd like to get a solid start in the right direction. Health, fitness, finances, home - all of those things are getting some small tweaks or a major overhaul. 

I plan on documenting my journey through the Winter of Me here on ye old blog, and I'm pretty excited to document all the ridiculous things I'm sure I'll be up to. While I'm sad this chapter of my life has come to an end, I'm super excited for a new one to begin.

Happy 2013 everyone!

xx, Katrina

2013 Resolutions

Like most people in the world, I can't help but see a new year as a chance for a clean slate. A fresh start. Three hundred and sixty five blank pages of days where anything could happen. Since 13 is my lucky number, 2013 can only hold magical and amazing things for me, right? I think so.

In an effort to make 2013 my best year yet, I've compiled this year's resolutions. I didn't do too badly at my resolutions from last year, so hopefully I'll do even better in 2013 (I totally will).

Run three 5ks

For real this time, reach my goal weight/feel my healthiest

Finish writing a novel

Buy my first place

Stick to a budget/spend more mindfully

There are admittedly some repeat offenders on this list, but hey, practice makes perfect, right?

Okay, now it's your turn! Did you make any resolutions this year? Link up in the comments, I'd love to read them!