neon & sparkle

a view from the top: DOWNTOWN MIAMI So long to my beautiful...

Fri, 24 May 2013 11:17:00 -0400

a view from the top: DOWNTOWN MIAMI

So long to my beautiful view of Miami’s Bayfront Park, Watson Island, Dodge Island (where the cruise ships sail out of) and South Beach. I’m 27 floors up at 100 North Biscayne in Downtown Miami. It been an incredible view for 6 years, with rainbows, waterspouts, hurricane days, Ultra Music Festival madness days, Miami Heat Parade days, and of course best of all sunny days like today.

throwback thursday: BROOKLYN BRIDGE A little post for throwback...

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:33:44 -0400

throwback thursday: BROOKLYN BRIDGE

A little post for throwback Thursday, is a photo of my now hubby and I on the Brooklyn Bridge in 2004. Though I had visited the city many times before, this was his first trip to New York City, and our first trip just the two of us. As we crossed the bridge, strolled through SoHo, and meandered around Central Park, we spoke of moving to the big city one day, but in that whimsical not-so-serious way. Almost a decade later, we’ve celebrated with our wedding party in this same spot and are now headed to our new home just a quick walk from there. If you have a dream, it’s yours to make happen…

brooklyn bound: MIAMI BUCKET LIST Less than a week to go before...

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:39:01 -0400

brooklyn bound: MIAMI BUCKET LIST

Less than a week to go before I’m headed to our new home in Brooklyn. We have a long holiday weekend ahead of us and I plan to spend as much time as I can with our friends and family. Extra celebrations are in order too since my birthday is next week. There isn’t much I’ll miss about Miami, but there are a few details that I hope to get a last fill in of before heading out of town. Such as…..

~~beach day~~
Publix cake (my birthday cake request!)
~~a shared plate with the hubby at PF Changs~~
Cuban food for lunch
family outing to the Cheesecake Factory
afternoon drinks at World of Beer
quick bite at Chick-fil-A with my BFF

Certainly a do-able list. Thankfully I’ll be close to the Brooklyn Bridge soon enough, perfect for a morning run, because I’m going to have work off all of this delicious food we plan to eat!

brooklyn bound: OUR NEW HOME (sneak peek) Here is a quick little...

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:50:00 -0400

brooklyn bound: OUR NEW HOME (sneak peek)

Here is a quick little sneak peek of our new home in Fort Greene. We are renting in a great building that is pretty new and so awesome. Some of the things we like most about this place are:

THOSE WINDOWS! Yes, they are floor to ceiling in the majority of the apartment
10 minute walk to the Brooklyn Bridge
15 minute walk to Target
two subway stops into Brooklyn making it a quick jump into manhattan
super short walk TO subway station (through a promenade, not streetside)
washer and dryer IN the unit
lounge downstairs complete with WiFi, TVs, pool table, and kitchenette (even better, its rentable for parties)
good sized gym
pretty finishes and a great floor plan layout

There will be many more pictures to come once I get the keys, move in, get settled, and begin to explore the neighborhood. Stay tuned…

brooklyn bound: IT’S HAPPENING! It’s finally...

Tue, 21 May 2013 22:29:00 -0400

brooklyn bound: IT’S HAPPENING!

It’s finally happening… we are Brooklyn Bound! After a (rather short) job hunt, I landed an amazing job as Design Project Manager for a pretty cool company. They want me in NYC next week so we are cranking away packing up our home I record time, with some help from our amazing friends and family. We already had an idea of where we wanted to live in Fort Greene Brooklyn, so securing our new apartment from Miami wasn’t too hard. It’s a pretty sweet place, and there will be plenty of posts on it in weeks to come.

Admittedly, I am a HUGE fan of large bags. I like being able to...

Thu, 09 May 2013 10:25:00 -0400

Admittedly, I am a HUGE fan of large bags. I like being able to throw my wallet, ipad, makeup, and keys in my bag, and still have room for some sketch paper for a meeting or snacks to sneak into a movie. All of this is great when you arent walking all over a city all day carrying said bag on your shoulder. But the last few times I’ve been to New York City (my soon to be home), I noticed these large bags were absolutely terrible for walking around the city. Something smaller, with just enough room or the essentials would be more fitting for window shopping in SoHo, or strolling the Highline in Chelsea. I’ve rounded up a few of my favorites which I’m trying to choose between. Take a look…

// image via Atlantic Pacific // 1. Coach legacy leather mini tanner crossbody (bright coral) // 2.Kate Spade bourbon street fabric freddie // 3. Coach legacy leather mini tanner crossbody (cognac) // 4. Coach legacy leather penny shoulder purse (cognac) // what’s inside: Coach legacy leather card case, NYC metrocard, Dior Addict Lip Glow, Kate Spade sunglasses, iPhone 5

adventures of a townhouse: THE STORY

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:53:00 -0400

Our current home, most commonly referred to as “the townhouse” has seen its fair share of days. It’s a simple, open plan, wood townhouse, and from the outside somewhat reminds me of the models I used to make out of Lincoln Logs as a child. You don’t see many homes like this in Miami. My dad bought this place in 1979, at the age of 24. It has great a great layout for entertaining and just hanging out with friends or hosting a get together.

Over the years my dad grew up, married my mom, and when they found out that I was coming along, it was time for them to move on to bigger and better homes. But my dad never sold the townhouse. Years later, my dad and I moved back to this wooden home while I was in high school. It became the hangout for movie nights, superbowl paries, and where my teenage friends and I rang in many new years.

Skip forward, and a few years later I was moving back into the townhouse as a grown up myself. Not even quite 21 years old, David and I moved in here, it is our first home together. As a designer, remodeling this place has become an occupational hazard. I would design, and David (trained by his carpenter father) would construct whatever I dreamed up. We have brought the townhouse into the 21st century and love coming home to our completed hard work night after night. I’ve chronicled a few of our projects on this blog including the renovation of our front yard and back yard, and I hope to add a few more posts in weeks to come about the interior of our home and how we transformed the space for our happily ever after celebration. It’s taken nearly a decade to get this home the way we want it, just in time to hand it back over to my dad as we move on to bigger and better adventures in Brooklyn.

TO THE ONES WHO STILL BELIEVE IN DREAMS

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:03:00 -0400

“To the ones who still believe in dreams: Chase them. Chase them until you’re out of breath. Then, keep running.” via Alicia of The Virtual Typewriter

TO CLEAN OR NOT TO CLEAN

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:41:00 -0400

As we drift into spring, I find that I’m surrounded by the idea of “spring cleaning” all over the place. The commercials, ads, blog posts, etc make me feel like I am missing out by not carrying around a bottle of windex in my purse. Add to this the fact that actual seasons are incredibly lacking in Miami. This past year however, it feels like summer never left. But back to the spring cleaning. Typically, in the beginning of the new year we clean out our closets, our loft which accumulates an assorment of junk throughout the year, and other niches around the house. I always feel refreshed and a little lighter after doing so. This year however, I haven’t had the urge or desire to do any of it. As we begin going through the motions of a move to Brooklyn, I go back and forth over “what’s the point.” In reality such a spring cleaning will hardly make a dent, and we are going to have a much more intense purge any month now. It’s likely that we will have to pack up in an incredibly short amount of time, taking only the items we really NEED to have with us in our new small space. Everything else will be given to friends, dontated, or in small cases trashed. So each week I put the real good thorough cleaning off for another week and simply take care of the necessities hoping sooner than later we will have a new place to clean.

// image via apartment therapy

[no sleep til brooklyn] featured on MERCI NEW YORK

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:51:00 -0400

I’m so excited to share with you that our wedding was featured on Merci New York, one of my favorite wedding blogs. The ladies over at Merci have impeccable taste and I love seeing their posts each day, even now still that my wedding day has past and I’m no longer scouring the web for bridal inspiration. Check out their post and write up of our amazingly fun wedding, plase leave a comment if you’re so inclined.

[ Be sure to check out the full gallery over at Diana Garcia Photography ]

adventures of a townhouse: BACK YARD

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:49:44 -0500

Last summer, in preparation for our Happily Ever After Celebration which we were hosting at our home, my husband, father, and I did a complete overhaul of our front yard. The intense work was just an intorduction what we were about to go through in the renovation of our back yard. Like any good project, I started with an inspiration board and worked from there.

To say our back yard was a “hot mess” is a bit of an understatement. The grass was dead in some places and over grown in others. There was leftover construction junk from other projects, a delapidated fence about to crumble, a neighbors overgrown tree, and so many other unsightly details.

After our first step of replacing the back fence, we moved on to ripping out all of the grass, digging up the root system of the neighbors overgrown tree, and leveling out the 10’ x 10’ area. This was some epic work, especially considering it was late summer in Miami. With a level yard, the guys were able to lay our 24” x 24” new pavers. That was the most difficult task of the entire project.

Next up was the existing concrete patio that was covered with wear and tear. I never was very happy with my previous attempt at staining the already poured in place concrete, the color was too blue. So my dad treated it to some muratic acid to open up the pores and I followed with a good pressure cleaning. Once it was dry, I brushed the grooves with concrete stain and then went back and rolled the flat squares. It was pretty easy and made the old concrete look refreshed.

We planted new greens, including podocarpus along the fence, and a combination of mondo grass and funky striped bromeliads in the concrete nook. We covered the dirt and the space between the pavers and fence with grey rocks from our local rock and garden store. These touches really brought the look together.

Last up was the picnic tables. I was looking for an inexpensive seating option that would wear in my back yard without an overhand to shade it from the Miami elements. The two picnic tables were only $99 each from my local Lowe’s Home Store, pre-cut and drilled and unassembled. Although the wood was already pressure treated, I painted each of the wood components separately to add an extra layer of protection. Once done, my husband helped me to assemble them.

And just like that… the backyard was ready for all of our party decorations and details to come.

[no sleep til brooklyn] ENGAGEMENT PHOTO REWIND . part II

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:03:00 -0500

In [no sleep til brooklyn] engagement photo rewind . part I, you saw that our “scouting shoot” ended up giving us some really great photos. But since we have fun going around town taking pictures, we decided to go ahead on our “real” engagement shoot anyways a few weeks later, again with Diana Garcia Photography.

It started on South Beach before sunrise as we photographed along the water and played amoung the iconic lifeguard houses that freckle the shoreline.

From there we headed to one of my favorite architecture structures in Miami, the 1111 parking garage on Lincoln Road.

Before long though, we weren’t able to dodge the security team any longer and had to move on to our next location.

Our final stop of the day was on the south end of Miami, on Old Cutler Road. The lush trees and foliage were picturesque with a nice vibe that contrasted the previous urban locale. As we played in the trees, Diana captured the last of our engagement photos in Miami.

For more photos by Diana Garcia Photography, be sure to visit her blog or her facebook page.

tulle skirt: Jcrew Weddings (old) | shoes: Jessica Simpson Cheetah (old) |tank: The Limited | Blazer: Banana Republic Monogram (old) | vest: Express

[no sleep til brooklyn] ENGAGEMENT PHOTO REWIND . part I

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:57:00 -0500

Two years ago, soon after my husband proposed to me, we were excited to take some engagement photos. We were lucky that his cousin happens to be the wonderful photographer of Diana Garcia Photography. The day we intended to do the photo shoot in Miami’s Design District, we got a late start and the sun was getting ready to set on us. We decided that this would be our “scouting shoot” and trial run, and we planned to return to take our “real” photos another day. Somehow though, she snapped away some amazing shots in the 45 minutes of light we had. These are some of my favorites of the shoot.

This last photo I’m sharing is one of my absolute favorites taken of David and I… ever. We were headed back to the car and Diana, our photographer, saw us sort of standing there and snapped this in between her open car door. Talk about some fantastic photographer intuition!

Of particulat note, these photos at the railroad will never be able to be replicated, as the old rusting railroad track has recently been replaced with a shiny new one.

For more photos by Diana Garcia Photography, be sure to visit her blog or her facebook page.

tulle skirt: Jcrew Weddings (old) | shoes: Jessica Simpson Cheetah (old) | tank: The Limited | Blazer: Banana Republic Monogram (old) | vest: Express

THE ANTI-RESOLUTION

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 19:37:00 -0500

I’ve never really understood New Years resolutions. Sure, the calendar flips, and it’s a new year, and many people believe this means it’s a fresh start. But to me, every day is a fresh start. You want to be healthier? Why wait til January 1? Start tomorrow. And then there is the idea of getting off track and “breaking” your resolution. Oh well, boo hoo! Again, tomorrow is another day, get back at it. It just seems silly to me to put such emphasis on the first days of the year as the time to change your habits, to do something good for yourself or others. Start now, or whenever it may be that you get them whim to do so, January 1st not required.

With tht said, I leave you with this to start the year out today, and hope that it carries you through alll 365 days that 2013 has in store…

// image via imagine.ale

2012 IN REVIEW

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 12:00:00 -0500

2012 is drawing to an end and I must say it has treated me (and my family) pretty well. The year was filled with tons of memories made, laughter had, and great moments with friends and family. The absolute highlight was traveling to New York City with our closest friends and family and marrying my husband. AMAZING! Here is a quick visual look back at some of the things that made this year so great, as taken from my instagram feed.

If you are interested in where and what these pics are from, follow me on instagram @katrina_ariel. Here’s to a fabulous 2013 with many new exciting adventures!

Photo

Tue, 25 Dec 2012 13:43:00 -0500

A LITTLE HOLIDAY TREAT

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 15:22:00 -0500

I’m sure everyone has come across this in their holiday shopping at some point or another. You know the friend, the kind you are really close with though you don’t necessarily swap holiday gifts. But nonetheless you want to give them a small token of appreciation for the part they shared in your life for the past year. I’ve put together the perfect gift for one of these (adult) friends! It’s easy, inexpense, and even a great option if you are short on time.

I went to Crate & Barrel and picked up 2 old fashioned drink glasses. Then I headed over to my favorite liqour store, Total Wine, and grabbed a handful of some small individual sized tasters. I went with 2 each of Kahlua, Bailey’s Irish Cream, and Kettle One Vodka, as it seemed a little more holiday and festive. I put one of each in the glass and places them among the tissue paper in the gift box (conveniently provided by C&B). After this, I formatted and printed a few yummy recipes of drinks the recipient could create and enjoy. I cut them out and quickly ran a gold paint marker around the border. These were layed on top of the glasses so that the little bottles were still peeking out.

The same night I was putting this together, we were baking cookies over at our house. So as a finishing touch, I included a handful of cookies and a couple of festive napkins reading “I do believe ill have another”. All done, ready to close the box up.

But no gift is complete without a personalized touch on the outside too. We had plenty of left over wedding prints from another project we did for the Happily Ever After Celebration. This worked as a perfect gift tag since the friend I’m gifting this to was a huge part of our NYC wedding weekend adventure. I added a few details, taped it to the box with some washi tape and voila!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

WHERE'S THE WINTER WONDERLAND

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 17:29:00 -0500

It’s no secret Miami is known for being a warm city. It’s the picturesque billboard for a (typically) sunny day. But what you dont see in those snapshops of the beaches and palm trees is the humidity, or the fact that there is a good chance that picture was taken in the middle of winter when the rest of the country is shoveling snow and freezing their butts off. This warmth is the reason so many people retire in Florida… perpetual warmth.

But it’s now December 18th, just a week away from Christmas, and we have yet to feel much of the slightest cold snap. Usually by now we would have had much cooler weather, or at least a few consecutive days of chilly weather. Now, I use the word “chilly” loosely. But come on mother nature! Can we get a little winter loving down here? I’m not asking to require a parka to walk outside, but at least a temperature that is worth of wearing my cute new boots. I want to enjoy hot chocolate as I wrap holiday gifts, enjoy warm yummy home made mac n cheese, wrap myself up in my favorite scarf…

I see (and pin) all these cute layered outfits and jackets and want a chance to actually try a few out this year. I think I own about 5 jackets, and 4 pairs of boots. This is probably a lot as far as Miami native goes, especially considering I wear each jacket maybe two or three times on a given year and my boots a few more than that each.

So I’m hoping that Santa brings a little of that cold weather down here next Tuesday. And if not, well… more motivation to move on out of here to New York City.

MIAMI vs NEW YORK

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 18:06:00 -0500

Those who are close to me know that my husband and I desperately want to move to new york, particularly Brooklyn. Three years ago it was an idea we started toying around with. Then when we decided to have our wedding in new york, we were oftern faced with the following series of questioning:

“oh are you from new york?”
“no”
“do you have family there?”
“no, we just really like it there”
“then why dont you LIVE there?”

After more than a dozen of these inquisitions, we started asking ourselves the same. Moving to New York was no longer some whimsical dream but something that we really wanted to make happen. Every time we are in the city, we feel like its simply the place we belong.

With that said, our friends and aquaintances have shared mixed reponses to this move. Some who know us well think it’s where we belong. Others have just tried to convince us its the worst idea in the world. I’ve put together some of the positive and negative reasons to want to live in Miami or New York, and at the end, to each their own!

THE WEATHER: One of the first things people say to us is “wow, how will you deal with the COLD weather?” Umm, how do people deal with this HOT weather. It’s mid december and I’m dressed in shorts and sandals walking the mall holiday shopping. Now, we know it gets hot in the city, in fact even hotter than in Miami, and it gets extremely cold as well. The big difference though is that every four months the seasons change and there is always something to look forward to.

THE OUTDOORS: As two people were born in Miami, and have grown up here, we are a little over it… particularly the beach. I’m super fair skinned so for me the beach involves a lot of sunblock and spending the day under an umbrealla. not to mention, we are simply bored of it. At the end of a day at the beach, the sand somehow finds its way all over, making a big mess in the car, at home, everywhere. New Yorkers seem to get their sunshine at the parks, on soft plushy grass or on the benches of the High Line. This is a lot more appealing in our opinion.

OUR PEOPLE: Missing our friends and family will be the hardest part about moving to Brooklyn. We are close with my dad and David’s mom and David is extremely close with his brother. We have a handful of friends who we are really close with but probably dont get to hang out with as often as we’d like. But in todays world, keeping in touch is a lot easier with technology and its not like we would never be back to Miami. And no apartment of ours in New York would not be complete without an air mattress, extra pillows, and an open door policy for our nearest and dearest.

THE COMMUTE: In Miami, you MUST have a car. The public transportation system is garbage with only one rail running, old cars, and always getting off schedule. The one time I was in a bind and tried to take a bus, I ended waiting an hour before having to call someone to come get me. My husband and I each have at least an hour commute each way, and its a pretty penny too! Between the car payments, tolls, gas, parking (for me downtown), and insurance, the numbers added up make me want to cry. However, in NYC the subway system is amazing, with stops all over the place and when you are really in a bind, you can always find a taxi or request an Uber. Another bonus: since taking a taxi is so commonplace, it means David and I can BOTH enjoy a few drinks while out since neither of us are getting behind the wheel. AND if I can criss cross NYC in a poofy wedding dress and platform boots, well… I can handle it anytime.

THE HOME: I ADORE my home in Miami. David and I have worked very hard on it, redesigning and remolding it, giving it a completely updated look from when my dad purchased it over thirty years ago. Its the first home David and I had together, with many incredible memories and we just love the place. But its far from the more fun areas of Miami. Meeting up with our friends is a good 30 minute drive (at best) across town. Where we are, rent is cheap, so we make it work. The idea of spending double to live in a more vibrant area simply doesnt appeal to us. Granted, rent in New York is a lot pricier as well, but 1. its completely different and 2. by not having cars, it makes up more than the difference in the cost of rent between what we have in Miami and what we want in Brooklyn.

THE CONVENIENCES: There are some perks to Miami that will certainly be missing in NYC/Brooklyn. Publix. I hear from everyone who leaves Miami that they miss Publix, which is possibly the BEST grocery store. This will be traded for the small markets and convenience stores and some daily habits will have to be gone about in a different manner. For example, instead of trecking home with 2-liter soda bottles, we would use a soda stream. And instead of grocery shopping for the week, it would be a few days worth of items. Each city has its own conveniences and inconveniences, but you have the choice let them be a pain or find a way to embrace them and grow accustomed.

THE EXERCISE: Miami has some beautiful places to go running along the waterside, but unfortunately they are a good 40 minutes away. And its just not enjoyable to run in my neighborhood along the same streets I’ve driven down and around for the past 20+ years. New York and Brooklyn have a little more to offer, with parks and sidewalks all over the places and unfamiliar scenery which will motivte both my husband and I to head out and explore. Another bonus: people walk everywhere in New York. Granted, I’ll have to trade in my sky high heels for flats on most days, but the health reward is well worth it.

THE SHOPPING: Alright, so the aspect of shopping is a toss up. Miami has some great malls. On a random Saturday afternoon, the hubby and I enjoy perusing through the stores, enjoying chick-fil-a or pizza, and just meandering around. In NYC, the shops are more spreadout in different neighborhoods. When its raining or snowing you dont have the benefit of the indoor mall to keep you dry. But New York does have some amazing stores and boutiques which can only be frequented online here in Miami.

So at the end of the day, yes… Miami and NYC are both very different places and a different kind of living style. Although it’s not for everyone, a bold life changing more to New York may be just what is right for us. Until then we will keep dreaming and scheming.

images: snowy nyc [link], small apartment [link], publix [link], leather grocery bag [link]

[no sleep til brooklyn] PHOTO INSPIRATIONS

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:46:00 -0400

For months I have been going through Pinterest, sifting through the millions of images, and pinning some of my favorite wedding shots taken all over New York City. With less than a week til our adventure begins, here is a peek as some of the best photographs we have come across. Can’t wait to see what Diana Garcia snaps away.