Uncategorized – Page 2 – A Sprinkle of Life

Rothy’s – The Sneaker Review

May 21, 2021 No Comments

I’ve been a fan of Rothy’s for a few years now, having purchased a few different colors of their Point shoe, and enjoying the fact that the shoes were washable and made of recyclable products. I was recently looking for a neutral sneaker and recalled seeing Rothy’s advertise about “The Sneaker” shoe for a while, so I figured let’s give it a try.

I bought The Sneaker in the Sand color, liking that it was a nice light neutral color that I felt I could wear with most things in my wardrobe. The size I went with was my usual shoe size (7), as the site said this shoe fits true to size, unlike some of their other options that they recommend sizing up a bit in.

At first try on, I wasn’t sure I was going to be a fan of the shoes. The material rubbed a bit on the upper part of my foot, and I couldn’t tell if I should wear socks, no-show socks, or nothing at all when donning these neutral kicks. I figured there’s no better way to figure it out then to try all three combos and see what looked and worked best for me.

Since at first I wasn’t sure I liked the feeling bare footed, I slipped into the shoes with my normal fun patterned Pusheen socks. This seemed to feel better, but eventually I determined normal socks were a little too thick for these snug shoes and opted to give no-show socks a try.

Everything seemed ok enough, so out the door and to the nature walk outside my front door I went! A few minutes in I felt that the no-show sock was biting into my heel a bit, rubbing with the back of the shoe. It didn’t feel great, and I was worried I was going to get a blister, but thankfully I didn’t. After breaking these kicks in for a day, I decided to give the no socks try again, and it was a success!

It seemed these shoes and my feet just needed to break things into together for a day or so, stretching out the sides a bit with my socks previously, and everything started to feel pretty comfortable. I’ve been wearing the Rothy’s sneaker exclusively for about 2 weeks now, testing them out in various scenarios, walking the nature path in the heat, walking through home depot, doing a grocery run, driving, etc.

After my 2 week test drive, I’d say these shoes are a winner. They are lightweight, a cute color with a pop of fun on the back heel, and they don’t require much breaking in. I’ve also found they are easy to wear and look good with just about anything, from jeans and leggings, to dresses and rompers you can make the look work.

I was hesitant to try a slip on sneaker style like this, since I don’t tend to wear slip ons, worrying that my skinny heels will slip right out, but I haven’t had any slippage issues with these shoes. If you’re like me and have trouble keeping slip on shoes on your heels and ankles, these just might work for you too!

Want to give Rothy’s a try? Use my code for $20 off your first purchase!

Next up, I’m going to be trying out The Wrap Sandal from the company. It’s getting hot here on the East Coast and I’ve already brought out my shorts, so it’s time to bring out the sandals.

Uncategorized

30 Crafts to celebrate being 30

March 12, 2020 No Comments

As some of you may know, I celebrated the big 3-0 birthday this January. Ringing in a new year with a new decade of my own. So far, so good. No complaints.

While so many people imply 30 is a scary year for women, it shouldn’t be. I’m starting to feel a bit more like an adult. Not sure when I’ll ever fully feel grown up and be all “yes I am an adult, let’s do this thing,” but hey that’s ok.

I originally wanted to create a list of “30 before 30” things I wanted to do, accomplish, experience, etc before my birthday came around, but I failed at that. 2019 was kind of a crap year for me. There was lots of stress, the loss of one of my closest and precious relatives, work madness, event planning, etc. But just because I didn’t accomplish those 30 things, or even come up with 30 (lols), doesn’t mean I can’t still tackle some of those items and “check them off” the list of Katie. One thing I’m still of the mindset I want to do is get a piercing. Now, I got my ears pierced (one hole each ear) at the mall when I was like 7. It was terrifying. I don’t do needles. Lucky me one of my holes closed up, and my father decided he’d re-pierce my ear for me with a piercing gun he purchased to do his own ears (we’re a special family). That was horrifying as well. Yet, here I am saying I want to get my cartilage pierced. Will I do it? I don’t know, but there’s been a thread at work amongst a bunch of women recommending piercing places in the city. One looks good, and even has this awesome lightning earring that makes me feel like I’ll be a Katie version of Harry Potter. The earring costs around $400. I may be crazy. I’ll keep you posted. Ok, I’ve rambled, on to the topic of this post.

I’ve been really into crafting, creating, and painting lately. So, from this point on I’m challenging myself to create 30 “things” this year. Luckily, I’ve already got a good start since I’ve subscribed to a watercolor painting box, but I won’t stop there. I’m hoping to knit some stuff, add to my cande inventory, watercolor more, make some homemade catnip toys, sew some pillows, and make some shell art.

I hope you’ll join me on my journey. I plan to capture the crafting experience here. If you like cats, candles, watercolors, and shells, you’re in the right place my friend.

I’ll leave you off with some items I’ve recently started playing around with.

Getting artsy and crafty makes me happy, fills up my weekend, and gives me something to do that’s uniquely me. I can’t wait!

I’m also going to make an etsy store for fun. If anyone ever wants an infamous “Candles by Katie” candle or a cute watercolor (not a print), feel free to take a peek.

Uncategorized

Infinitely Loft Review #3

March 7, 2020 No Comments

It’s time for another Infinitely Loft box review. It’s been a while, which means I’ve had several boxes come and go, but I wanted to share one of my more recent rentals.

Item #1 was a multi color knit sweater. It was soft, comfortable, and a great length for wearing over leggings. I returned it because I’m not a huge fan of wearing tops with bright reds it it (hard to tell with the lighting here). As a redhead, I try to be cautious with my clothing color choices.

Item #2 for this review is a front waist tie up sweater. It was cute, I wanted to love it and keep it, but when I wore it all day I found it to be a bit itchy. Not overly itchy where I wanted to pull it off, but I could tell there was wool in the fabric blend. When I’m looking for sweaters, I want them to be itch free, soft and cozy. While this option was different with the tie in the front, it wasn’t a purchase item for me.

Some of my other most recent observations have been around sizing and fit. I’ve found a lot of the more flowy tops and some of the sweaters are tending to run a bit big. Both sweaters above could have been a bit more tailored.

When I pick out items for my closet, the model in the photos seem to be in tops that are fitted closer to the body. I’ve been getting size small in all tops, but I’m starting to wonder if I should try XS in some items that seem like they might be a bit baggier. Other tops that aren’t knit seem to fit as expected in size small.

Finally, for item #3, I’m super pumped to share that I received an item I’ve had on my priorities list for a couple of months now, a faux leather biker-esque jacket. I felt so cool when I put it on the first time.

And just because, I had to do a fun photo shoot with my boyfriend’s lightsaber. I mean, who could pass up on a lightsaber!? Don’t mind my messy art station.

Take note of the animal print top, a rental item I have in my possession right now! It’s short sleeve, slinky, and so much fun. I might just have to purchase it to go with the jacket that I of course had to keep!!!

I’m still thoroughly enjoying my rental experience with Infinitely Loft, and I’m anxiously awaiting spring weather so I can get some of the cute rompers and sleeveless tops I’ve put on hold!

In total, I’ve probably purchased and kept around 6 items. I’m sure with the upcoming seasons I’ll be using this service to update my spring and summer time wardrobe.

If you want to give Infinitely Loft a spin too, get $20 off your first box here!

Uncategorized

Infinitely Loft – Wardrobe game changer?

January 28, 2020 No Comments

It’s been a few months since I signed up for Loft’s clothing rental service, Infinitely Loft, so I figured it’s time to give you an update on what’s been going down and how I’ve found the service.

My 5th month using Infinitely Loft is coming to a quick close. As I look back on my inbox, it looks like I’ve received roughly 14 boxes, with one set to ship out to me this week.

I have to say, I’ve enjoyed the service, and found it to be a great value. Most boxes have been a hit. There was maybe only 2-3 boxes that had items that weren’t great for the current season or some items weren’t as I had hoped (i.e. strange pair of leggings that felt and rolled up more like panty hose).

It took me a while to realize that if I didn’t want non-seasonally appropriate articles of clothing from my “closet” I had to use the “Hold” feature that’s hidden via a drop down for each item in your closet. Hold apparently means I want this, but not right now. Now I know 🙂

My latest box was full of long sleeved tops and sweaters perfect for a New York/New Jersey winter. I almost thought about keeping the fox sweater, but figured I’d hold out for something more must have in a future box. For those wondering, I’ve bought around 4 items total from previous boxes. If you decide to purchase something, you get a really great discount of at least 50% off the retail price, making snagging up a few items hard to pass up on. Below you can see my latest rental of cozy tops.

Floral V-Neck Blouse in Whisper White – Loft

Luxe Knit Fox Sweater in Neutral Multi – Loft

Striped Pocket Cowl Neck Sweater in Forever Navy – Loft

I’ve been favoriting some tops that must be super popular (animal print galore) because I haven’t received any of the ones I was really dying for. We’ll see if any of them show up, but I expect that if something is super popular in stores, Infinitely Loft likely has less to rent out, but that’s just a theory. However, I’ve been happy with 95% of the pieces I have received, so it’s not a major issue for me yet.

Getting dressed each week and figuring out what’s available to wear has certainly become a lot easier with Infinitely Loft. If I like all 3 pieces I’ve gotten for a particular week, I’m going to have an easy work week of outfits, which is super cool. It’s definitely taken away a lot of effort to decide what to throw on, what haven’t I worn too recently, etc.

For me, the sweet spot of getting boxes when I want them, aka the start of a week, is to return my previous box around Thursday. This usually, but not always, ensures I’ll get my box Saturday-Monday. My past couple of boxes due to travel and holidays have arrived at the end of the week, which is ok, but I’d prefer to use my rentals for work days than weekend days.

I’m looking forward to keeping up with my rental subscription, with no plans to cancel in the foreseeable future. It’s made my life easier and it’s always fun to see what’s coming next. I’m personally excited to see what Spring fashion starts popping up in the next few weeks.

Happy renting!

Want to give it a try, and get $20 off your first box? Sign up here!

Uncategorized

Reading Challenge Recap and 2020 goals

January 4, 2020 No Comments

Another year of reading has come to an end. Every year since discovering Goodreads, I’ve been pushing myself to take on a yearly reading challenge. This past year my goal was to read 20 books, the same goal as the previous year. I’m excited to announce that I surpassed my goal, hitting a new record of 23 books in 2019! The last couple months were a bit slow going reading wise, so I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it, but I picked up some spellbindingly good books that pushed me over. Let’s take a peek at my Goodreads report.

Looking back, I read a lot of great books this year. During some of my longer bouts of travel, I took to reading on my kindle, and solely only free books I could download. Surprisingly some of those free books were my favorite can’t put this book down kind of reads.

If you’re looking for some quick reads that will have you fully consumed in the plot, check out “In the Dark” and “The Vine Witch.” Looking for a good cry? Anything by Mitch Albom will get the water works going, and I mean ugly kind of crying.

As 2020 is here and slowly underway, it’s time to get ready for another year of reading. Since the year is 2020, I figured I’d keep the goal at 20, to be all symbolic and everything, but ideally I’d love to hit 25. I’ve been telling myself that 2020 is going to be “the year of Katie,” especially as I get ready to turn 30 in a few days. With that said, I’m not sure how much free time I’ll have for reading because I plan to tackle new adventures, travel the world, and learn some new hobbies, but we’ll see where this year takes me.

One reading goal I really want to tackle is re-reading Harry Potter. My significant other and I hope to purchase a house this year, and I’ve been dreaming of having a Harry Potter home warming party, so I’ve got to re-read the books for some extra magic!

Happy reading!

« Previous 1 2 3 4 Next »