Stranded Series Linkup

Happy Wednesday! Today, I am linking up with Shay for her monthly stranded series to answer the question, "What three Christmas movies would you take with you if you were stranded on a desert island?" This one was easy for me, as I am a HUGE Christmas movie junkie and love love LOVE watching all the "classics" in November and December. After careful thought, here are my top 3.

1. Home Alone. This is my all-time, FAVORITE Christmas movie. Even when it's not Christmas time and it's on TV, I will stop what I'm doing to watch it. I will never get sick of it. Classic.

2. The Holiday. This one almost made it to first place. Almost. True story: when I first moved into my house about 5 years ago, I had no internet or TV for about a week, so I watched this movie on my laptop every single night. I also recently watched it twice: on my flight to Boston, and on my return flight from Boston because I love it so much. It's such a great, feel-good holiday movie, and it doesn't hurt that Jude Law is in it. ;)

 

3. So my third pick is a tie between Elf and Christmas Vacation. Elf is another one that I watch annually and always quote lines from ("Santa, I know him!"). And Christmas vacation just recently was added to my holiday viewing list-- I had not seen it up until a few years ago, and now it's one of my favorites. Everyone can relate to it, right?!

 

Looking forward to reading what others have posted. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have been MIA from the blogging world because I've been traveling so much for work (and am traveling again the Monday after Thanksgiving-- pray for me! I'm hoping the airport lines are not a total mess).

I did, however, want to wish everyone a safe, happy, and healthy Thanksgiving. May we remember all the blessings we have in our lives and be thankful for our friends and family.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Wishing all of you a safe and happy holiday. I spent the weekend celebrating Halloween by going to a birthday party (I was dressed as a cat, see below). I'm not much of a Halloween person so I went with the simplest costume.

However, I did enjoy carving my two pumpkins...they turned out quiet nice. :)

And finally, for those who live near a Chipotle, if you show up in a costume today from 3 pm to close, you can get any salad, burritto, bowl, etc. for $3 as part of their "Boorito" special. Enjoy!

 

Friday Favorites

Happy Halloween weekend! For those going out and celebrating, be safe! Halloween is my least favorite holiday (Christmas is my favorite-- can I start playing Christmas music after this weekend?!), so my costume this year isn't too exciting or original: I'm going as a cat. :) I am, however, looking forward to seeing all the creative costumes other people come up with. I'm anticipating there to be a lot of political ones this year. Anyways, onto my favorites for the week!

1. This adorable costume. He's a mini candy corn. I found this on Ellen's twitter (from the Ellen Show). Cuteness overload. :)

 

2. This. This is so me. Anyone else feel me?

3. The upcoming 20% off sale at Sephora for VIB Rouge members. There are NO exclusions and this runs from Nov. 4th-7th. I'm planning on purchasing this limited edition set, and this mask set. The sets alone are a great deal, and even better so with 20% off.

4. Hobby Lobby. A new store just opened near me and I am in LOVE. It's like a cross between Home Goods and Michael's, two stores I also love. I've gone twice already.

5. This nail polish color. It's my new fav. I will be wearing it with my Halloween costume. Very fall-ish, a combination of blue and black.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! I have been playing catch up this week since I was out of town last weekend on a mini vacation to Phoenix to visit one of my best friends. It was my first time in Arizona and I found Phoenix to be so similar to Palm Springs.

 

 

And now, onto my favorites for the week.

1. All Things Fall
We visited a farm while in Phoenix that had a pumpkin patch. It was beautiful to walk around on the grounds.

 

2. This little gadget right here. I use the much more pricier version (this one), and have been looking for a cheaper one for ages. This one has excellent reviews, so I'm eager to see how it fares. It also comes in a two pack.

3. For all you ladies who wear painful high heels (because all cute heels hurt, right?), I just ordered this spray to try.  It's an anti-blister spray that you put on before wearing your heels, and it apparently forms a barrier on your foot that protects from blisters.  It also has rave reviews. I really hope this is the miracle product people make it out to be.

4. Pumpkin pie squares! I am making this recipe that I posted last year this weekend.

 

5. And finally, this book. It's the first of a four part series. If you love Italy and lots of characters, pick this up stat!

Have a great weekend!

Stranded Series Linkup

Happy Wednesday! Today, I am linking up with Shay for her monthly stranded series to answer the question, "What three types of Halloween candy would you take with you if you were stranded on a desert island?"  After compiling my list, I saw a common theme: Chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

As a child, I remember "ranking" my Halloween candy after a long night of trick-or-treating. I would dump my entire candy sack out in my room and segregate the contents based on my own personal ranking system.  The top 3 were the first to be eaten, so these are the ones that I would take with me on my island:

1. Snickers (You can never go wrong with this one.  Nothing beats a king size Snickers bar).
2. Twix (You get TWO of these per pack...double the yum!).
3. Milky Way (For when I'm sick of peanuts).

And on the flip side, since we're sharing our three favorites, here are the three worst offenders that I would find in my Halloween bag:

1. Dots (Do they still make those? They taste like plastic).
2. Mounds (Coconut with chocolate should be banned.  At least in my world.  Too overpowering of a flavor!)
3. Now-and-Laters (I call these wanna-be Starbursts).

Looking forward to seeing what everyone else chose!

 

Friday Favorites

It's starting to feel more and more like Fall daily...and you know what that means:

:)

That brings us to my list of favorites for the week, of which #1 is very relevant.

1. Peet's coffee dark chocolate pumpkin mocha. It's pumpkin. It's mocha. 'Nuff said.

 

2. I have my go-to favorite scents that I use daily or for special occasions (see a blog post I did on that here), but Sephora sent me a sample of this in the mail and it's a new favorite. I will be buying the full size once my sample finishes. Bonus: The bottle is so pretty.

3. Blue Apron food delivery service. I've used Hello Fresh before (see my review here), so I wanted to try this alternative. It's proven to be just as yummy. I made two dishes below so far.

Blackened Chicken with Zucchini Rice, Corn & Cherry Tomatoes

Brown Butter & Thyme Gnocchi with Maitake Mushrooms, Corn & Swiss Chard

4. This scarf. It just screams Fall. :)

5. Fresh flowers. These are currently on my living room table.

 

Have a great weekend!

Happy National Coffee Day!

It's national coffee day today! I feel like I should be on vacation instead of at work today, given how much I love coffee. Today should be a personal holiday for me. ;) I also think I need this sign in my kitchen. I found it at Home Goods last week.

I always wonder what I would be drinking in the morning if coffee had never been invented, and that thought makes me sad. I love my cup of Joe! I go to bed each night looking forward to it the next morning. I always have cold brew coffee in the morning, regardless of how cold it is outside (living in California helps). Cold brew coffee is just so good-- it's coffee that has been seeped in cold water for 18 to 24 hours. The result is a smooth, less acidic, more concentrated coffee experience. I add equal parts coffee concentrate and milk, and a few ice cubes. So good! I use this to make my cold brew at home. It's super easy and the cold brew concentrate can be kept in the fridge for up to two weeks. 


In honor of today, there are some coffee chains that are giving away free coffee. Click here to see where. Also, Peet's Coffee has free shipping today if you order online.

Alfred Coffee, one of my favorites!

Happy sipping!

What's Up Wednesday

Hello Wednesday! Today, I am linking up with Shay for "What's Up Wednesday," which consists of answering the following questions.

1. What We're Eating This Week
I subscribed to Blue Apron for a week since they had a promo, so I have been cooking some yummy meals. I've made these so far and they were delicious. What I love too is that the meals are so easy and simple to recreate again.

Blackened Chicken with Zucchini Rice, Corn & Cherry Tomatoes

Brown Butter & Thyme Gnocchi with Maitake Mushrooms, Corn & Swiss Chard

2. What I'm Reminiscing About
Trick-or-Treating as a child. I used to go dressed as a French Maid a lot (because my mom loved the costume) or some kind of animal (mouse, cat, etc). Costumes have come a long way since then. I have a feeling political ones will be popular this year given that it's an election year.

3. What I'm Loving
The cooler weather slowly creeping in. There are still plenty of hot days in southern California, but the evenings are getting cooler, with a hint of Fall.

4. What We've Been Up To
Lots...birthday parties, traveling for work, baby events, and dinners with friends. We celebrated a friend's birthday this past weekend at a gastro pub in Pasadena.

5. What I'm Dreading
My iphone possibly dying...j/ k. But seriously, has anyone noticed that as soon as a new iphone comes out (the 7 came out this month), the battery seems to start draining faster on your phone?! I've noticed this with mine. It's like it's Apple's sneaky way of getting us to buy the new phone. ;)

6. What I'm Working On
Starting my Christmas shopping early (or at least making a list of what to purchase for everyone). Doing this early makes the month of December so much more pleasant.

7. What I'm Excited About
All things pumpkin! One of my favorites is Trader Joe's pumpkin ice cream. I stopped by to pick some up last week and they were out of it already. :(

 

8. What I'm Watching/Reading
I just finished Stranger Things, which I LOVED! I feel like the show is a combination of ET, Goonies, and Super 8. And it had that 80s vibe that I love. And the music was amazing. Can't wait for season 2!

I'm also watching Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix.  I needed some comedy after Stranger Things. So funny! I highly recommend it.

 

9. What I'm Listening To
The Frank Sinatra radio station on Pandora.

10. What I'm Wearing
Black pants, a black top, these flats, and this cute cardigan in pink. It's all about comfort while working, right?

11. What I'm Doing This Weekend
Relaxing! It's been a hectic few weeks. I'm looking forward to decorating the house for Fall too. I picked up this fall wreath from Home Depot of all places. And it was under $15! So much cheaper than other stores. You can find it here.

  

12. What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month
Halloween! I love carving the pumpkin, roasting the seeds, seeing all the kids in their costumes, and the vibe around that time of year.

13. What Else is New
I will be visiting one of my best friends in Phoenix next month. I have never been so I'm looking forward to some much needed girl time and catching up.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emmy Awards Fashion

The 68th annual Emmy Awards were held last night, and as I was watching the show, I kept thinking that the word for this year's dresses was: color! I loved all the bright colors on the red carpet.

My absolute favorite dress was this one...I love it!  So pretty.  It also helps that Priyanka Chopra is stunning.

And here are some other favorites:

 

Happy Monday! Where did the weekend go?!