i will kick you, GPS

So. I got lost on my way home from work yesterday. This seems a little crazy, since I've been driving this same route home for almost three years, but I have a good excuse. There was a detour. Is there any more dreaded site on the road than a detour sign? Well, probably, but a detour is still pretty stress-inducing.

This detour was poorly marked. It was all "Detour! This way!" and then just left you there. I needed a follow up, because unless told otherwise, I am going to continue going straight until I get to my house. If that's not where this detour is taking me I need to be informed. I'm a step-by-step kind of girl.

Anyway, I quickly realized I had missed a turn somewhere, so I decided to just wing it and take the next left I saw and hope for the best. I had my GPS, what could go wrong?

The next left was called Pineswamp Road. I should have known. Yet I happily turned down Pineswamp Road. "Oh look at the trees and the fields, this is the scenic route." I told myself. Then things started to get real piney...and swampy...and the road got real narrow. And I saw the "Not a Thru Way" sign. I took out the GPS. Only to discover you cannot acquire satellites on Pineswamp Road. Shit.

I managed to keep my wits about me. By "keep my wits about me" I mean, slammed my hands on the steering wheel while shouting "STUPID DETOUR!" and turning around. And I kid you not, the satellites were acquired as soon as I got to the end of Pineswamp Road. And they guided me safely home. But not before the GPS could get in a few digs - "When possible, make a U-turn," "re-calculating." You shut up, you condescending GPS lady. She really gets on my nerves sometimes.

Today at work I discovered I am violently allergic to my office and was having sneezing fits and my nose became completely stuffed. I can't work with a stuffed nose, so I desperately needed to find a drug store to get some allergy meds. Since, after three years, I am still completely unfamiliar with the town in which I work, I had no idea if they even had a drug store. GPS to the rescue! I plugged in "drug store" and was on my way. Only to discover the directions had two steps. Turn right, destination ahead on the left.

I felt like an idiot. The tone in which that damn GPS lady gave me the directions didn't help either.  At least my nose wasn't stuffed. Even though I hate that damn GPS, and her damn obnoxious voice, I couldn't live without that thing. I am terrible at getting places on my own. Global Positioning Systems - can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

girls guide to hunting

I love these boots. I got them at H&M while I was in New York last month. I was in an H&M in SoHo when I spotted them but they didn't have my size. The sales girl looked at me funny and said "Why don't you check the H&M down the block, we have the same stuff." THE H&M DOWN THE BLOCK. I'd have to drive to a whole 'nother mall here in the burbs if this happened at home! So that's what I did. I walked down the block and they had my size.

And I lived happily ever after.

Also, at one point this belt fit around my hips, you know, like a belt should. In order to hold up pants. Then it got way, way too small, but it fit my waist perfectly. So I kept it. Now it's too big for my waist, hence the last clutching-at-my-belt picture. It does, however, seem to fit around my hips again, for the most part. This belt and I have come full circle.

Dress - Modcloth
Belt - of unknown origins
Boots - H&M

presents for mia

Mia is my dog. She is a petite Maltese that loves cuddling, face licking, and rides in the car. She also loves getting presents. Yes, you read that right. This dog not only understands the word presents, she gets really, really excited about them.

It's our fault. She's spoiled rotten and is constantly getting presents.

The problem is, whenever someone else gets a present, Mia automatically assumes it's for her. She hears the rustle of the tissue paper or the sound of wrapping paper being ripped and immediately comes running. She'll sniff wildly and bark at you, alternating between jumping like a circus dog and trying to sit patiently until she finds out what is in that gift.

So we feel really bad when we open gifts and she doesn't get one. Like I said, we spoil her. So we end up digging out some old toy she hasn't played with in awhile and putting it in an empty gift bag and convincing her it's a new toy. The joy this dog experiences when she sticks her head into a gift bag and pulls out a toy she's actually had for years is just too cute for words.

I can only imagine this is what Christmas morning feels like when you have kids. Is it a little strange and kind of sad that we do this? Probably.  But it's too darn cute for me to care.

rebel yell

I wore this outfit last weekend to go shopping and grab some pizza with my bestie. I was feeling pretty cute in it. I love when the temperature is perfect for shorts with long sleeves. For some reason I just love this combo. I've been trying to take advantage of it every weekend when it's warm enough. I think we've pretty much crossed the line into "too cold for this" territory. Maybe I'll just pair this type of look up with some boots...hmmm. This blog post has turned into an outfit brainstorming session, haha.

I'm just gonna keep it pretty short and sweet today. I feel like I have a million things I'd like to get done before bed, and I am already super tired. What is wrong with me, it's 8:30! Haha, I'm really getting old. Happy Monday night!

Headband: Forever 21
Jacket: Forever 21
Shirt: H&M
Shorts: H&M
Sandals: American Eagle

country to city

A few weeks ago I went on a little road trip vacation. I thought it was finally time I break out the pictures and share them! I warn you: there are quite a few.

We started our trip in Vermont. We stayed in Stowe, and on the way up we stopped at Killington and rode the gondola to the top of the mountain and hiked around a bit. The views were beautiful, but it was very windy. There were lots of pine trees up there though, so it smelled like Christmas! It was amazing. We ran into a group of guys who were hiking the Appalachian Trail. They had all started alone, from Georgia, at the end of April and had met up along the trail. It was the end of August and they were just nearly finished! That amazed me, I could never, ever do that. I don't sleep outside, heh.

When we finally made it up to Stowe, we checked into our hotel, strolled around the quaint little town, and got stuck in a rain storm. But we got to see an awesome rainbow so that made it okay. The next day we headed into Burlington, where we saw Lake Champlain and went to the Magic Hat brewery. I love a good brewery tour, and this one was pretty great. Plus: beer.

And then, as if all that wasn't enough, we went to the Ben & Jerry's factory. AMAZING. We saw the flavor graveyard, took a tour, and got ice cream cones. I went with the Late Night Snack flavor - vanilla ice cream with a salted caramel swirl and chocolate covered potato chip clusters. Yes - chocolate covered potato chip clusters. If you love salty and sweet like I do, you need to try this.

 

From there we headed down to Atlantic City for a night, where we gambled (well, I didn't really. Not my thing) drank, ate and lounged. The next morning we were off for a day in SoHo so I could finally go to Topshop! We spent the day shopping, eating, and drinking. Eating and drinking are my favorite things, aside from shopping, so this day was pretty great.

Luckily for us, it happened to be restaurant week while we were there, so we ended up eating at David Burke Kitchen where I had a massive plate of the most delicious chicken ever and an apple tart for dessert. Perfect end to our trip. It was definitely whirl-wind, but also jam packed full of fun things. Now I'm busy planning my next adventure...

playing with proportion

This might be one of my all-time favorite looks I have ever come up with. It was definitely a risk for me, actually. The tops is kind of floaty and boxy and the skirt is more figure conscious. Normally, I would tuck the top into the skirt, but that just wasn't looking right to me, and it felt too dressed up for work. So I un-tucked the shirt. I didn't think this look would be flattering on me, but I liked the way it looked in the mirror, so I went about my day. I got home, took some pictures, and even liked the way it looked in pictures. Which I'm sure as we all know isn't always the case - you know you've put on an outfit, looked in the mirror and felt pretty fly, then took a picture and cringed.

But sometimes the risk pays off. Even if it's not a huge risk. Even if the risk is as small as untucking your shirt. Risks are important. Take one a day and call me next week if your life doesn't improve.

In other news, I am completely addicted to the game Spy Mouse on my iPhone. I can't stop. This little mouse with the bow tie (bow ties are COOL) (Meg) has stolen my heart. And all my free time. Plus? The nemesis in this game is obviously cats, and I don't like cats! So Spy Mouse and I are united on that front. I think I need to go feed my addiction...

Top: Forever 21

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: Forever 21

Necklace: Forever 21

Lipstick: Sephora - "It Girl"

Madewell Catalog

 

Pretty much obsessed. I love Madewell. I wish I could wear nothing but Madewell, all the time. It's pretty much how I want my style to be. Maybe with a few more glam elements thrown in. So,  J.Crew, basically.  Only maybe a little edgier. Yeah. I totally want to be Madewell-J.Crew-Edgy.

primary colors

Hard to believe summer is actually over, but the crisp temperatures outside are definitely feeling like fall! I'm not complaining, fall is my second favorite season (after summer, of course). I just love cozy sweaters, snuggling up under blankets, quiet nights at home, and pumpkin spice everything. That being said...this outfit is decidedly summer-like. Which makes sense, because it is quite a few weeks old.

I do really like it though. I am so obsessed with those bright blue sandals. They're really tall, and really comfy, and really bright. I did have some trouble finding things they go with though. Maybe I'm just not thinking out of the box enough, because I keep trying to "match" them rather than "coordinate" them. Maybe I can squeeze in a few more wearings before it gets too cold...hmmm...

This afternoon I sat down and made a little schedule for myself. It's color coordinated and everything. I have blog posts scheduled, workouts, work things and personal things on there. Now all I have to do is stick to it! I'm hoping keeping track of everything I have to do/want to do will keep things from piling up too badly. Plus this should help keep my blog posting on a consistent schedule. Do you guys use schedules? Calendars? How do you keep track of the one million and one things we always seem to be doing?

Vest: Old Navy, formerly a denim jacker

Dress: French Connection, old

Shoes: Aldo

Ring: H&M

INDIE e-Conference

INDIE is an e-Conference that Tieka of Selective Potential and Elizabeth of Delightfully Tacky are putting on during Spring Fashion Week for the second year now. I was hesitant to sign up, wondering how helpful it would really be, but I am really glad I did!

Every day is chock-full of hint, tips, tutorials - you name it. It's not just for fashion bloggers, but any type of blogger can benefit from this. They're even having live chats throughout the entire conference - definitely an awesome perk! Elizabeth had one this afternoon and it was great to connect with other bloggers and chat about silly blog things.

Tieka is at NYFW and is sharing her experiences there as well, which have been super interesting. It's the next-best thing to being there yourself.

The best part is, it's not too late to sign up! Signing up will give you access to all the posts from this week, as well as everything still to come! I seriously encourage you to check it out.

ch-ch-changes

I'mmm baaaccckkk!

After a refreshing summer hiatus, I'm back and ready to get into the swing of blogging again. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted this blog to be and how I wanted to present it, and I'm excited to get started!

You've probably noticed the new header, which I made myself with my minimal Photoshop skills. I've also updated the navigation bar along the top, adding some new pages which are not yet finished. I figured today I'd take you on a little tour of the changes I've made and the general feel of how things will be around here moving forward.

The about and contact tabs are pretty self explanatory, though I do plan on fleshing them out a bit more in the coming weeks. We'll skip over them for now, though.

Writing

I like to write, and I've been working on doing it more often. Every once in awhile I'd like to do posts where I feature writing I've done and think you guys would find interesting, other people's writing I have enjoyed, books I'm reading or even short pieces I write that will be found only on the blog.

This will give me the opportunity to practice my writing, as well as get feedback from you guys! I love book recommendations or recommendations for other types of writing and literature as well. This is where the contact tab comes in! Feel free to share what you'd like to see, things you enjoy or anything else. I've been toying with the idea of a Goosebumps style "you choose what happens next!" type of feature as well but we'll see.

Adventures

This is where I'll keep posts about trips I've taken or fun things I've done. My goal is to try to get out more and do different things. This section will hopefully keep me accountable to this goal. Day trips, vacations, concerts, sporting events - all that stuff will fall into this category.

Live in New England or the Boston area? Have a suggestion about something cool to do or see, be it a restaurant, store, tourist attraction - let me know! I'm always looking for cool things to do!

Style

Originally, my plan was for this blog to be very fashion oriented. I discovered that while personal style and fashion are interests of mine, they're not something I want to solely focus on. Putting myself in that box was keeping me from blogging as regularly as I would have liked. It was starting to feel like a chore. While outfit pictures and style related posts will still be a significant part of this blog, they will no longer be the main focus.

Sparkle is a Color is taking a turn more towards a lifestyle blog than a fashion blog, and I am happy about that. There will be other types of posts as well, ones that don't quite fit into any of the categories above. Really, I hope there will be a little something for everyone. I hope you stick around for everything that's coming, I'm really glad you're here! :)

xx, Katrina

fall is here, hear the yell

It's back to school time and that means it is also back to blogging time. My little unintended summer vacation has come to an end. Check back next week for all new features, a new blog design, and of course, more sparkles.