Hi everyone – Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great time celebrating last night! B and I are both battling colds, so we sat on the couch eating Chinese food and writing our resolutions for 2018! Before I jump into any new content, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the state of TSC and fill you in on some of the plans I have for the new year!
When I first started The Sol Compass, I had no idea that it would wind up being so heavily fashion based. I got pretty lucky in gaining traction pretty quickly with my fashion posts, and they are always the highest viewed content on the site. With Instagram making it so easy to just skim through #ootd’s, I want to keep TheSolCompass.com a place that you feel comfortable going to the way you would ask a friend for advice. A place with deeper writing than an Instagram caption could provide. On that same note, I want to provide better content in some of the other areas I love outside of fashion. I’m extremely passionate about skin care, so expect to see a few posts on that coming up soon. I’m super excited to announce that I’ve also been working on creating more user friendly travel guides, which is something I’ve wanted to do since high school. Some other ideas I’ve been toying with have been book reviews (reading was my first love), my favorite snacks (I am an avid snacker), grocery store hauls, and some small touches around the house that have allowed me to be more comfortable sitting still than I ever thought I would be. Beyond all these things, my interests range from tech to quick and easy weeknight meals to finding the best date night itineraries. If there’s anything you want to read about more, anything that can bring a little sunshine to your days, please leave me a comment or send me an email! I would love to explore any suggestions and ideas you may have!
Now a quick little round up of some of my favorite posts from 2017!
I kicked off 2017 in Disney World with my family – and this post recapping all the outfits I wore is always one of my most visited.
B and I were running some errands after we shot this outfit, and six people told me they liked my coat that day. At the time, it was two years old and from Target. This was such a self five moment. I recently broke my Perverse sunglasses that I was wearing in this post though, so pouring one out for them :'(.
I went outlet shopping with my mom and my sister, and absolutely fell in love with this dress. I wore it nearly once per week for the rest of the summer.
I have wanted to take photos in front of this cool building for what seems like forever. We finally made it over, and I made it my 17 Things You May Not Know About Me Post!
When I posted this outfit on Instagram, I got compliments on my dress, shoes, AND jacket. Which is how I knew I did something right that day.
It’s nearly impossible to choose three top days of 2017, but if I had to they would be these three.
One: Nashville.
It’s hard to go wrong traveling with my sister, but this day was a special kind of something. We woke up, got breakfast and coffee, then rented some bikes to take a not super safe ride from our hotel downtown out to the Parthenon. Lots of Percy Jackson references were made, and we enjoyed the gorgeous late April sunshine walking around all morning. We stopped and got lunch at J.Alexander’s, which was a family favorite on our regular Florida trips growing up. We went out to Belle Meade, had a fun tour and a wine tasting, then hit up The Gulch to grab dinner with a friend, and ended the night on the roof of the Thompson Hotel at LA Jackson. Many laughs were had along the way, and I am so thankful for this human.
Two: Colby Farm.
The sunflower field at Colby Farm never disappoints. Despite having a full agenda for the day, I went through it feeling oddly relaxed and at peace. B and I went to Newbury and Newburyport, saw the sunflowers, shot a few outfit posts, grabbed burritos for lunch, then made it back to head to Fenway with my family to celebrate my brother’s American Legion team making it to the world series (on his birthday!) My brother’s talent on the diamond (he’s a pitcher) never ceases to amaze me, and I brag about him at every chance I get.
Three: Vermont.
B and I took a road trip all around Vermont for Columbus Day Weekend. It was the perfect vacation that we needed. We had no agenda and no real plan. On our way to Woodstock off the highway, we spotted a sign for the Quechee Gorge. I had somehow never heard of it (a fact both of our dads were surprised to hear when we got back), but I was bummed that I missed seeing the Flume Gorge up in the White Mountains when I was there a week before, so as soon as we saw the sign we popped a U-Turn and pulled into the parking lot. It was so unexpected on our trek, we wandered around the trails and the gorge in amazement until hunger started to kick in and we continued on our way through the best aimless road trip I have ever been on.
Thank you all so much for following my blog and for sharing my adventures with me. I hope we can share so much more in 2018!
xo, C
The Sol Compass 