Thank You!

fall is coming to end and so are my blogging days. Temperatures of 39 and 45 degree is the beginning of winter! Now all the leaves will turn from pretty reds and oranges to browns and yellows. Here in Portland the rain will come, turning the roads into icicles. Already there is talk of snow in the upcoming weeks. The air is now going to be more brisk so make sure to bundle up in lots of layers to keep warm. 

   I hope that this blog has helped you through this fall season giving you tips and ideas on food and fashion. I have loved sharing ideas with you guys, whatever season is to come find ways to make it amazing! Thanks for taking a look at Fall fun!   

Flip Flops Out, Boots In!

Fall fashion wouldn't be complete with just the scarves and sweaters. Fall time is when all the boots start to make their way out of your closet. Boots have multiple purposes. They keep your feet warm, they can make you taller, they look classy, and they can be worn with a casual outfit. You can choose from Booties, Knee Highs, Moto, Stacked Heel, even Uggs. It really is up to whatever you feel. But making a decision can be hard, here are a couple ideas.

        Booties- When you feel like going out or dressing up, this should be your go-to boot.

       Knee Highs- Help your legs look longer with this boot. Wear them with some jeans or tights.

       Moto- Perfect boots for wearing out in the rain, casual every day use, and occasionally making you feel like a bad ass! 

      Stacked Heel- Gives you a little height, throw on some jeans or try a dressier look with them. 

     Ugg- The lazy boot. Wear them to run errands, lounging around , Perfect to keep you warm and comfy. 

   Take my advice, you can't go wrong with any of these boots. Plus it gives you an excuse to go shopping! 

      

Oregon has a beautiful Nature scene. Yes it rains almost more then half the year, but how else do you think it gets all the green?? Moving here from Idaho all you get is dry or snow, not a lot of rain. But in Idaho we don't have beautiful trees and water falls. Part of Oregon's charm is being able to spend so much time on hikes or exploring. 

Being new to the area I had no idea where to explore. Down below I have created a list of places you should check out! Living here has given me chance to see all the beauty. With Fall in full swing all the leaves and colors will be changing. If you have some down time on the weekend, throw on your coat and boots and start seeing Oregon in a new way! 

1. Japanese Garden

2. Cathedral Park

3. Sauvie Island

4. Hoyt Arboretum 

5. Opal Creek 

6. Multnomah Falls 

7. Lacamas Creek 

Candles, Candles, and More Candles!

       The other day I went shopping with my girlfriends. Walking around all the stores looking at sweaters for fall is the perfect way to spend a night. Roaming around we wandered into Bath and Body Works. Little did I know that my roommate is obsessed with candles. Bath and Body works is like heaven for candle lovers. She will buy wall candles, mini candles, three wicked candles, and medium candles. But why spend $20 on a jar that smells good??

     Men may not understand the need to buy candles but ladies do. You can get over hundreds of smells for a candle. Not just that I can list off a couple reasons on why a candle is a good purchase.
1. Having a candle in the house adds to your home decor.
2. Candles are comforting. Nothing is better than a little illuminating light in a dark room soothing you to sleep.
3. They can be set in place to relax you. Fill your tub turn off the lights, light a ton of candles, and take a relaxing bath,
4. Candles set a romantic mood. Maybe set a few candles for dinner with you husband or boyfriend. Light up the bedroom with a candle and enjoy the nice scent.
5. Candles are perfect gifts.
6. Holiday candles are fun to pick out, so many new scents.
these are only a few reasons to love candles.

    Getting into the fall season candles scents go off the charts. It is the time I want my house to smell like pumpkins, or fall air, even spices. Some of the most popular scents during fall are, Spiced Pumpkin Cider, Sweater Weather, Pumpkin Cinnamon Bun, Pumpkin Ginger Bread, Harvest Gathering, Mahogany, Amber Woods, Warm Vanilla Sugar, Tis the Season, Marshmallow Fireside; doesn't this make you want to go pick up a candle?! In my opinion everyone should at least own one candle in their home. If you won't take my word for it, go out and smell some for yourself! Comment below with your favorite Fall scent.

Sprucing Up Your Home This Season

I will admit that I'm not very crafty. But when fall rolls around there are so many cute options on how to decorate your house. One of the items that really catches my eye are fall wreaths. They are one of the first items of your house that guests and family will notice. How nice would it be if your guests are welcomed right off the bat and impressed with your "craftiness", when in reality they are simple and still beautiful.

  Choosing what design you want is endless. You can use burlap, wire, stems, branches, berries, ribbon, feathers, ornaments, the list can go on. Making a wreathe might help you get into the festive spirit while making your home look unique at the same time. You can add colors, polka dots, flowers, get creative!

Cider Up!

There are some days in fall where the brisk air gets to me. These are the days when I don't want to get out of bed, let alone leave the house. But what if I want to spoil myself with a warm drink? I found a really simple yet amazing tasting crock pot cider recipe. Making your own cider might be a fun way to pass the time on those lazy days. Once you got it down you could have cider at your finger tips whenever you would want. It is perfect for parties or family nights. If you have any other recipes that you would want to share on your cider or fall drinks post a comment down below!

 Prep time: 5 mins

 Cook time: 3 hours 

 Serves: 6

  

Ingredients

• 64oz Apple Cider (I prefer Tree Top)
• 3 Chopped Apples (optional)
• 3 Cinnamon Sticks
• 1 teaspoon Whole Cloves
• 1 Sliced Orange (optional)
• ¼ cup Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon whole allspice
• Small square of cheesecloth.

Instructions

1. Add bottle of apple cider to crock pot.
2. Add chopped apples, oranges, and brown sugar to crock pot.
3. Place the whole cloves, allspice and cinnamon sticks to the square of cheesecloth and tie.
4. Add to crock pot and cook on low for 2-3 hours.
5. Discard cheesecloth and use a ladle to serve!

The Big "T"

Alright all you foodies we are now in November! Moving along with all things fall you all know what important Holiday is to come, Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is the time for family and being thankful for all that you have. But of course my mind can't help but wander to all the food. Thanksgiving dinner is held all around the world in some fashion for families to enjoy. Mom's and grandmas pull out their famous recipes for stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie; only the best dishes are served.

All morning you slave away in the kitchen making sure the turkey comes out just right. Football or parades are going on in the background off the t.v. The mouths of all the children are trying to patiently await for the table to be set. That is basically how this day is pictured in my mind. I love gathering for Thanksgiving with my family, it is definitely loud. Trying to watch movies or have a conversation is belted over by my grandparents speaking to each other in Spanish. Thanksgiving in my opinion is so family oriented. You get to see that cousin or aunt that you may not get to spend as much time with as you like. It really is just one big celebration with tons of food.

      Not going to lie I try to wear yoga pants because I know the amount of food I will be consuming is out of this world. When I first started helping with the cooking I was always in charge of the green bean casserole. To this day it is just tradition for me to make up that dish all on my own, I love it. Coming into the season I just hope to remind you guys that family is everything. They may get on your nerves and you might want to kill them at times. But family is family.....no matter what they have your back. Be thankful for the life that you live, it may not be all sun shine and roses all the time. But in this crazy world I bet someone has it worse. Love what you have, embrace what is to come, and cherish every moment. Happy Holidays everyone!

I Love a Good Snicker

It is the moment you have been waiting for.......Pumpkin desserts!

Everyone loves the traditional pumpkin pie served in the fall. But there are also a lot of other delicious recipes that you can try out! One of my favorite things to have on a cold night is a glass of milk with some cookies by the fire. Why not spice it up with some pumpkin snicker doodles. I hope you guys can try out this recipe! I found it off of Pinterest, it is super simple and perfect to start off the fall season. Get your baking on!

http://www.highheelsandgrills.com/2013/09/pumpkin-snickerdoodles.html

Cookies: Makes about 4 dozen 

• 1 cup {2 sticks} salted butted, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 & 3/4 cup bread flour {or all-purpose flour if you don't have bread flour}
• 1 & 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Sugar Coating:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• Dash of allspice

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in pumpkin until well combined.
3. Add egg and vanilla extract.
4. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
6. Cover the dough and refrigerate for one hour until firm. {Or overnight.}
7. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
8. In a small bowl, mix all ingredients for the sugar coating.
9. Roll dough into 1 & 1/2 inch balls, then roll in sugar mixture, and place on cookie sheet.
10. At this point, you can flatten the dough with the bottom of a cup, but I prefer mine to be thick and fluffy.
11. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

How Can You Not Love Pumpkins??

My favorite part of the the Season's festivities is going and picking a pumpkin to carve! If anyone lives around Portland, Sauvies Island is a great place to find the perfect pumpkin. I went on a cloudy day last week with my roommates. We each took our time picking out the perfect pumpkin. I don't know about you but I'm picky. I don't like pumpkins with warts, or oval shaped. I like them perfectly round and fat with a burnt orange color! It was definitely chilly but that is the perfect weather for a fall outing.

After obtaining the perfect pumpkin we spent hours on Pinterest trying to figure out what to carve. I don't know about you but I'm no pro at carving! I always do the normal easy scary face with a big smile. I wanted to do something different! I decided to carve a minion!  I love the movie despicable me and they are so cute! They run around chanting "banana", so random yet so fitting for their character! I found a stencil online and tried my best to copy it. After 45 min my pumpkin was complete! From certain angles it looks good! Others are a little iffy, it was hard! But I'm still proud that I went out of my comfort zone and tried something fun. I love my pumpkin and can't wait to put my candle inside and leave it on my porch for Halloween. 

Halloween is Almost Here!

Halloween is tomorrow! I must say it is not my favorite holiday, but who doesn't like dressing up for one night!? I personally like the tradition I have of making pizza, renting movies, and passing out candy to the kids. Last year was the first time that I actually went out with my girlfriends and it was a blast! I just take a throw back Thursday moment, we decided to dress up as celebrities. It was pretty funny! I decided to be Nikki Manaj My roommate was Katy Perry, and our friends were Keisha and Lady Gaga. It was a fun night for sure filled with lots of eating and drinking.

This Halloween two of my co-workers and I decided to dress up as characters from one of our favorite t.v shows as kids. Can you take a guess?? The POWERPUFF GIRLS! I use to be obsessed with Bubbles but for this I'm being Buttercup, the green one. What are you dressing up for Halloween? I would love to see everyone's creative ideas! Post a pic in the comment box below. Let the festivities begin. Happy Halloween!

"Fall" Up Your Look

Hey guys I have an awesome blog that you should check out if you are interested in some makeup tips! Zoella is 24 years old and started her blog up in 2009. She definitely has an expertise in make up department. Plus she is beautiful! I find her blog very interesting and her posts very relatable. Her blog is fun and full of great pictures, as well as videos! But if you think it just covers makeup wait for your mind to be blown. She also posts about cosmetics in general like what face washes are good to use(skin care) what soap brands are best, life advice, and random fun posts. Here is a link to her blog check it out!  http://www.zoella.co.uk/p/about-me.html

One of her blog posts goes hand in hand with my blog on Fall! She has a great video introducing the look of golden bronze eyes, and plum looking lips. I like when fall collections come out because of all the dark and shimmery pallets. It is the time of year I buy all my lip stains and lips sticks. I can have around 5 tubes at a time, it gets addicting! It is the perfect way to boost up your look a little bit. When I wake up late to work throw on my face primer a little mascara, a lip color and I'm ready to bolt out the door. But it also brings a sense of classiness to a look. Say you have a dinner or special occasion throw on a black dress and pop some color with a crimson lip stick and smokey eyes. Hands down fall makeup is very unique, I feel like people step out of their comfort zones with fall colors. Someone who may not wear insane makeup everyday may convince themselves to try something new since everyone else is. It is the perfect time to play around and mix and match those tones.

Scarf Heaven

Finally the time is here.....the time for scarves! scarves are the perfect accessory for fall. When the breeze is coming in and the chilly morning air is here, you will want a scarf! There are many different reasons and outfits to pair a scarf with. there are days when I just want to put on a big comfy sweater with some yoga pants, boots, and a scarf. But then of course you get tired of the lazy look everyday and maybe want to dress up a bit. Walking outside in a dress probably isn't the smartest idea, you will freeze. But you always have the option of throwing on some tights wedged boots and a scarf to keep you warm. I love when church time comes around and I get to dress up my winter dresses with my infinity scarves. Then you have SNOW days. Snow days are the days that you want your thickest scarf to be prepared for the icy snow flakes. These scarves you would want for tubing, skiing, snowboarding, towards the end of fall in general you will be happy you got one!

Top 8 Reasons To Love Fall

It shouldn't take very much convincing to make someone fall in love with fall. But it case you need some back up, here are 8 reasons!

1. the color and crunching of the leaves

Who doesn't love the crunching of crisp leaves in the park or in the yard. Fall brings all the bright yellow and red colors.

2. Football is back

                                       The time to get loud and pull out those team jerseys.

3. Pumpkin spice EVERYTHING!

The delicious taste in treats and drinks.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  4. Hats, Scarfs, Sweaters

      keep yourself warm and cozy with some cute accessories.

5. Holidays

Enjoy a good scare on Halloween and hang some spooky decorations in the house.

  6. Candy

Gives you an excuse to buy a ton of candy and not feel bad about it because it's part of the season! 

     

7. Warm drinks

Hot cocoa, cider, steams, and coffee are always welcome; anytime of day in fall!

8. Your favorite T.V show comes back!

after long months of waiting after an intense season premier, you get to watch your show again.

Welcoming Fall!

Hi everyone, Fall is here! I'm so excited to share with you guys all the reasons that I love this season. I want to share some ideas on......

Fashion:

  Fall fashion is one of my favorites. I call it sweater weather! You can bust out your sweaters, scarfs, leggings, packing up all your summer choices. Along with clothes you have makeup. It's the time when the plum, red, and dark browns come into play. Colors of lipstick and eye shadows are endless. Not mention you have hair colors. I personally like the fact that it gives me an excuse to put red in my hair. 

Food: 

Pumpkin pie is one of favorite desserts of fall. Fall flavors are always spiced and I love it! Drinks like pumpkin chai's or apple cider are perfect examples of drinks for the season. Brown sugar cinnamon squash is one of my roommates go to side dishes. Sweet potato are also a great choice! There is just so much you can do with a pumpkin and fall vegetables! Lots of delicious fall dessert ideas coming as well! 

Activities: 

Need some idea on how to spend your time with family and friends?? Going to a pumpkin patch is always fun! You also have choices like corn mazes and haunted houses in the fall! Carving pumpkins with the family and watching movies by the fire. Put a little thought and you can find some awesome ways to stay busy.......

I have so much more that I can talk about! I hope you guys enjoy my blog, here's to making some new Fall Classics!