Tag Archives: pookie

This is what makes us girls

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Rocking out to Lana del Ray’s “This is What Makes Us Girls” with my pink earbuds plugged into my pink-rubber-bunny-cased iPhone is a fabulously girly thing. The song makes me think about all the trouble my little posses of the past got into… in high school we were cruising around in the back seat of older boys’ Jeeps, swigging Arizona iced tea mixed with cheap vodka out of water bottles. In college we were buying clothes on our parents’ credit cards and pretending no one would ever find out. And then there were the parties… but no need to get into all of that now.

Flashback: Pookie’s bachelorette party in March 2010. Oh, what a night!

Last week: Getting trapped in a hurricane en route to pick up Pookie at work. This served as the perfect time to experiment with a deep side part and a navy eye liner that I found in her glove box.

So, what now? I’m in my late twenties (yes, I am at the age that I can still pretend is mid twenties but everyone else in the world says it’s late. I am over it). I live a calm and quiet life in Brooklyn with a wonderful boyfriend and a sweet little cat. We don’t have children but we do make dinner together from scratch. I make the beds and he does the laundry. We take walks to the pier for ice cream and occasionally I convince him to join me for a boozy brunch with friends or a raucous happy hour. It’s all blissful.

Pookie is domestic too. One night while I visited her in CT, she buried herself in this cookbook trying to decide what to make me for dinner. In the end, we settled on Chinese takeout.

But what about the girls? I spent this past weekend with Pookie remembering what makes us girls. We got really corny-chic manicures at a local salon for $15 a pop. We went shopping and tried on a million lovely things, then bought one each. We skipped the maxi dresses and blue plastic bangles we didn’t need. We lunched on Thai food outside and, influenced by the crisp rose, went back and bought the unnecessary maxi and bangle. (Pink wine and sunshine will do that to a girl. Learn it!)

We ate Mexican food for dinner and got dressed up for no one but each other. We straightened our hair and wore sky-high heels (and our new dresses, you guessed it!). We stumbled home, drunk on jalapeno-infused margaritas and laughter. We stayed up too late watching reruns of Teen Mom and dancing around this pristine little Brooklyn apartment like school girls. (Yes, Josh was out of town!)

It was more than a weekend of splurging and laughing. It was a time to reflect on who we are, who we were, and why we ended up friends in the first place. She might be my sister-in-law now (my brother fell in love and married her after we graduated; can you blame him?), but at the heart of it all, there are a few things that never change. Glitter, lip gloss, music, high heels, secrets, laughter, drip coffee, and pink wine. This is what makes us girls.

Years and miles might have brought us farther from the moment that this shot was taken, but at our core, Pookie and I will ALWAYS be these girls.

All in the Details

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There is nothing so lovely as a surprising little detail added to an outfit. Sometimes it’s a great pair of gold earrings or a sweet little clutch. Sometimes it’s a pop of color in the form of red lipstick or a bright pink belt.

This week it is a delightful neon orange rosette hairpin that Pookie and I discovered at J. Crew. Who knows how these little treasures managed to end up in the sale bin, but I was thrilled to discover it at the cool price of $5.99. Mine! All mine! Well, I got one for her, too. This will certainly be one of my most favored details this summer. What are yours?

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Worry Dolls

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I am a worrier. It’s evident in my daily life today and it was evident in the video footage of me as a child. It’s my fourth birthday. The dining room of my home has been decorated in glitter and tulle. Little girls surround me in a circle of sweetness, handing me gifts and giggling in two’s and three’s. Pan in on the leotard-clad princess in the middle of the circle now. There is a look of sheer panic on her face.

I remember it well. I was worried about the possibility of opening a gift and not liking it. Would I be able to do a good fake? Would the offending gifter catch on and get her feelings hurt? Even more importantly, was I actually worth all this attention? Did anyone even like me? And so began a journey of worry, one that has yet to end.

Now that I am (quite solidly!) in my twenties, I’ve learned to conceal the worry. I think of my relationship with my anxiety much like the proverb about the duck–calm on the surface, paddling like the dickens below. I am quick to conceal anxious thoughts with a huge smile and a self-confident remark. And, in the big picture I actually am quite a happy and confident person. But often, beneath the surface there lurks a sense of doom. What if…? What if…?

Luckily, Pookie serves as a constant source of positive energy and support. She’s also helped me to create a little trick for easing the worry. We call it the Worst Case Scenario Game. You look at the issue you’re frightened/concerned/stressing out about. Then you play out in your mind (or aloud, with a friend, over a cocktail) the absolute worst thing that could happen as a result of this situation.

Step by step, you make a comprehensive plan of how to deal with that worst possible outcome. Now, you have control. Once you’ve assessed the situation this way and gained control, you will find you’re not as worried as you were before. And, my little worry dolls, it’s almost never as bad as the worst case scenario, so you might just find you have very little to worry about after all.

She's been making things better since the days when I used to dye my hair to look like her...

What to Wear to a Wedding: Part Two

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The verdict, after all, was that my dress was just this side of slutty. In order to avoid stares, baby brother suited me up with a gold and moonstone pendant on a gold chain and a dripping Chanel belt-or-necklace wrapped twice around my neck. He left this to dangle in the deep V of exposed skin and decided to leave my waves untended so as not to look too “done.” Talk about a stylist! This kid should charge.

Little floating CC's made for a perfect skin concealer and dressed up the outfit without drawing the attention away from my face. Pookie looked ravishing in a black silk chiffon number, dangling crystal earrings and her signature radiant smile.

Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself…

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Truth time. I had a moment the other day while leisurely spending an hour or so in front of the bathroom mirror analyzing the state of things. Pores, lines, irritations, split ends, etc. I found something deeply disturbing and I am sharing it with you now, dear readers, because the goal of this blog is to be honest. Three sad little hairs poked out at the crown among the deeper browns, the ash browns, and the few precious golden strands. They were not brown or blond or even amber… they were silver. A color I love so dearly in any other context, now rendered gut-wrenching, shocking, and tragic. Taken over by vanity and impulsiveness, I reached for my tweezer and took care of the situation instantly, at least for now. The most troubling thing is not that I found a few gray hairs. I am 26 and it could be a lot worse. But what really gets me is my golden rule about hair accessories, and I’m concerned I might have to rethink it, or sadly start to follow it.

Adore this sequined wrap
from Eugenia King, $99,
shopbop.com

Headwear is an essential part of my wardrobe. It’s the accessory I love more than anything. Belts are great but leave me frustrated and uncomfortable by day’s end, and look simply awkard if loosened. Bags are wonderful but don’t remain a part of the outfit once you’ve sat down at the desk or the dinner table. Shoes are sexy but seasonal and (sometimes) painful after a while. But the headband, the glorious headband, is the perfect accessory to polish off any look. It can hide day-old hair, masque roots, and elevate any outfit to a new level. I have so many and am always acquiring more. Just last weekend in Utah I picked up a fabulous one with a huge rabbit fur bow on it. As someone who doesn’t typically sway toward the avant garde in clothing items, I like using headwear to make a statement, without having to reach too far outside of my comfort zone. What’s the problem, then?

With Pookie at a casual engagement party
last summer… this is a favorite of mine in
mint green glass beads. Etsy.com

About a year ago I saw a woman on the subway who was starting to turn gray. Her outfit was chic but she wore a headband–complete with a large side bow–and with those gray streaks poking through, the look was just off. Something about it made me sort of sad. It was an attempt at a youthful look, I think, and it just was not working. I vowed then and there that if ever (!) my hair should turn in that direction, I would ditch the headbands. But I never imagined I would find myself at the crossroads so early in my fashion journey. Three measly strands is nothing to head to the colorist over, right? But if I reach the point where I need to start coloring to cover, what of it then? In short, I am bringing out the headgear in full effect while I still can. Sprinkled throughout this post are some of my favorites from my own collection. And some you need to get to the store and purchase ASAP.

 

Sometimes the simple addition of a
satin ribbon as headband is perfect
This is a big, floppy cotton bow and it always yields compliments…

 

 

And here is Pookie in my big, floppy bow

 

New Year’s Eve 2009 in a net-ribbon-bead-pearl extravaganza
nabbed at Nordstrom’s (and my friend’s hat was pretty
great too, right?) What a night!

 

Juicy Couture now ON SALE for $29
revolveclothing.com

 

Welcome to Sparkles & Fun

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Hi friends!

I address you as such because it’s pretty clear that the only people who will read this for a while are my already established friends-and-family base. Nothing wrong with that. I love you all and welcome you to my newest endeavor…

What is “Sparkles & Fun”?…

It started several years ago, to be honest. I like to pretend sometimes that we’re all still 19-year-old college girls bopping around in my navy blue VW Bug convertible through the mountains of Vermont, country music blazing through weary speakers and a case of cheap white wine clinking around in the back seat. But the truth is, that was (well) over five years ago. Some things have changed–big things have changed. But the essence is still there, and that is what I want to write about.

My best college friend–we will call her Pookie–is so much more than my friend. She’s the mirror of my soul, the voice I always want on the other end of the line, and most recently added to her list of connections and titles, she is now my sister to boot. Luckily my older brother fell in love with her a couple years back and on May 1st of this year, she officially joined the family. But I digress…

Pookie and I started out as a couple of blondes on a cheerleading team (she was a natural at both–my hair needed chemicals and my body needed major training), with big open hearts and huge dreams. Anytime we had a fight, a negative moment, tears over a boy, a disappointment in any element of our sweet lives, one or both of us would shake it off suddenly and declare, “Sparkles and fun!” It seemed–seems still, really–that glittery things and fabulous times were always at the core of who were, who we still are. It seems that no matter how difficult or discouraging a moment can be, you can always find a way to bring it back to the positive. Nothing matters as much as finding the joy in life. It sounds corny, but try it. I promise you will find, we were right.

I start this blog not as an homage to my incredible friendship with Pookie (though I know you’ll all hear plenty about that!) but as an affirmation that though I am older now and presumably wiser, and though the proverbial “plate” is much fuller in many ways than it was back when Sparkles & Fun, the concept, was formed, I am still a girl at heart. A girl in New York City, filled to the brim with hopes and fears and excitement and disappointments. A girl desperate to try new things and get ideas out and hear feedback from her peers. A girl overflowing with glitter and love for the many wonderful people who make it all matter, and the beautiful city that now plays host to my dreams.

I hope you’ll stay with me and help me to navigate this new and somewhat daunting path. I am so excited to start Sparkles & Fun, and only hope that Pookie will forgive me for borrowing the term from us, for now. I hope she knows she can always take it back and do her very own things with it.

Welcome to my blog!

“It’s simple. I believe in pink. I believe in wearing lipstick. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe in miracles.”
–Audrey Hepburn–