FALLing

Fall...

Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Investment in Bath & Body Works fall-scented candles

Colored denim

Boots

Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (made weekly by yours truly)

Chili & breadsticks (also a weekly fave)

Deep shades of lipstick and nail polish

yeah, that basically wraps up my current obsessions.

Pumpkins

'Tis the season for crafting next to your man (talked him into this and he actually loved it). Thanks to the spiked pumpkin cider, holiday crafting can be done together.

Mikey's pumpkin

My Misoni-inspired pumpkin

You should have seen this bale of straw in my two-door car - mess!

But, well worth the effort, right?

Fall is for...

Fall is for pumpkin spice lattes and and bright bold lips...

A perfect fall menu

With an intense craving for soup and something new, I thought I would try a Porcupine-inspired dish: potato beer cheese soup. It turned out even better than I expected. I added potatoes to a beer cheese soup recipe I found online, made a few minor adjustments and served this magical treat in a bread bowl. It was DELISH! Mikey and my sister Emily also raved about (Emily told me it was thee best soup she had ever had, and she gets to enjoy my Mom's cooking regularly, so this is a BIG deal).

I am normally so GOOD about taking pics of the entire process, but this time I was NOT... next time!

Click here for the link to the recipe I used.
modifications:
I did not top with popcorn
I sauteed my veggies in butter until they were soft
I added potatoes... I peeled and boiled them, diced them and added them to my veggie mix
I used two cups of 1/2 & 1/2 and 2 cups of 1% milk
I used one bottle of Blue Moon (thee perfect choice)
I added a little extra chicken boullion, making it even more flavorful and some extra hot sauce and cayenne pepper

Served in a bread bowl... a recipe that will now be in regular rotation!


Dessert: Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies... to DIE for!


ENJOY!!!!

Falling for warm, rich colors

Along with my festive decor throughout our home, the aroma of warm pumpkin and cinnamon filling the air and the closet season switch out, I have busted out some of my favorite fall makeup colors.

During the fall and winter seasons, I like to switch up my hot pink cheeks and pale pink lips for warmer mauve-ish tones.

Here are some of my very favorites, the pumpkin is a nice touch, right?!
Cheeks: Plum Foolery
Eyes: Twinks, Arena and Antiqued
Lips: Liner - Half Red, Lipstick - Viva Glam VI

Do have any fall favorites?

To bang, or not to bang.

With fall in the air and sweaters and boots in the closet, the new season means hair changes for many of us ladies. Adding warm rich colors to a head full of summer highlights and perhaps a style change. This summer I ran with a few months of highlights throughout my whole head but then opted to switch back to my regular dark color (minus the red nowadays) half-way through the summer.

{Side story: Like most of us, good or bad, I have had my fair share of the days of light hair. Naturally, I have a more golden tones in my brown hair than I tend to show off… within about 1.5 months after a color, you can see golden brown roots. I have come to find that no one would guess this, thanks to my incredible colorist, thanks Mom, and the fact that I simply look better with dark hair. Circa freshman year of high school, 1999, I was SO into Britney Spears and wanted to look like her. I begged and begged my Mom to add more and more highlights to my hair each time we colored it. Long story short, it was light (not blonde) and was not hot like Britney. Since then, I have rocked some more natural highlights: carmel, red, light brown tones. Time after time, I love one solid-color, a deep dark rich brown. My hair is in such great condition when it’s all one color. And, using a semi-permanent color every five to six weeks ensure the condition and overall health of my hair plus, my dark color still has dimension and shine versus a flat super dark look. Ah…. The joy of having a super talented hair dresser as a Mother. Gotta love it.}

With no hair color change in my foreseeable future I am faced with the decision of whether or not to bang. I have had bangs for years! Last year around wedding time, I began to grow them out (just a little) to create more of a swoop effect for the big day. I cut them once after the wedding and have been growing them out since (with the exception of the one chunk getting caught in our shitty blowdryer I have been using since my nice one burned out on me). I have a big forehead, so I feel like bangs are critical to my life, hence the reason I have nearly almost always had them. I love the low-maintenance of my now longer bangs (below the nose)… Pull them back in a headband, easily pin them back with bobby pins, tuck them into my high pony tail… etc. The part I am not so sure of is everyday down wear. I cannot decide- does this look even work for me? I get mixed reviews but trust the brutally honest opinion of my youngest Sister, Emily. She likes them long, and so does Mikey.

I have some serious, life-altering decisions to make as the Fall season approaches: to bang, or not to bang?

BANG:

NOT TO BANG/ROCKIN' THE LONG BANGS: