my fall makeup bag: drugstore addition.

     Fall is here! I thought I would share a video of what is in my fall makeup bag right now. I'm trying to be a bit more price savvy so these are mostly pieces you can purchase at a drugstore. I'm actually really pleased with each of these products so far and am starting to wonder why I averted my eyes from drugstore makeup in the first place. I especially love the glimmer stick eyeliners from Avon. These eyeliners are amazing! I never imagined the day when I would be ordering Avon, envisioning my Lancome and Lauder taunting it ever so. Luckily, all is living harmoniously in my train case caboodle. Also, please ignore my halo of frizz, it has been raining nonstop and the humidity is at an all time high. There aren't enough hair products with silicon to tame this mane right now.

chevron stripes and capes.

     If you live in the South like I do, at least for two more weeks, the onset of autumn can be torturous. Fall is alive in the world of fashion and retail yet not on my thermostat. Shops are displaying cashmere scarves and riding boots, and as I look at these elaborate and cozy infused window displays I am sweating in this awful ninety degree heat. Luckily I have a few transitional pieces that allow me to be on trend as well as not overheat and faint in a very Scarlet O'Hara type way. One of my favorite pieces is a cape style dress with chevron stripes I picked up at Forever 21.

Dress: Forever 21, Shoes: Steve Madden, Purse: Big Buddha

   
     The high-low hemming of the dress makes life seem so much more dramatic as I feed the dog. The open shoulders also allow me to show my sultry side without too much smolder. My favorite part of the dress though is the taupe and black color scheme. It transcends seasons so I'm able to wear it year round depending on how I choose to accessorize.  I originally bought it in the spring but it seems to work well for fall with leggings and suede platforms. Now I just have to wait until I can break out my scarves and riding boots.

pumpkin spice chocolate kiss muffins.

     Since fall officially starts on my birthday in my mind (September 15th), I am in full autumn mode. I wanted to bake something reminiscent of something you would find in the Starbucks bakery minus the excessive fat and excessive price. I am willing to pay six dollars for a seasonal latte but I am not will to pay for baked goods that make my corduroy leggings not fit. Envisioning a warm, soft muffin in the morning with a crispy outside and a melted dark chocolate center to enjoy with my pumpkin spice latte made me swoon with seasonal delight. So I baked it.

I used one bag of Krusteaz pumpkin spice quick bread mix. I replaced the oil with 1/3 cup of all natural apple sauce (no sugar added). Then I mixed a 1/2 cup of water and 2 eggs. Whisking away as my scentsy burned a vanilla creme wax, I let the oven preheat to 400 degree Fahrenheit. After all of the ingredients were mixed I poured the batter into six greased (pammed) wells on a muffin pan. The batter makes ten servings but I wanted six large ones. After the batter was poured I put one dark chocolate Hershey kiss facing down into the center of each muffin. I let them bake for twenty minutes and then waited until morning to enjoy with my latte. Once morning arrived I just heated one in the toaster oven for five minutes and let myself swoon with seasonal delight once more. Best enjoyed wearing comfy, over sized pajamas bottoms.

     Overall, the nutritional content per muffin was: 350 calories, 6 grams fat, 6 grams protein. The cost per muffin is about $1.00. These are all numbers I can live with. What is your favorite fall breakfast to go with coffee? 

last of the moccasins.

     Well, it is Monday and time to come back to reality. It's been a whirlwind since Friday. Le Fiance got a promotion and we are moving back to Minnesota. This means I have been frantically making packing lists whilst hugging my cosmetic bag full of glamor and sobbing to Le Fiance on how I do not have a job and will no longer be able to purchase sparkly eye shadows until I find a new one. Between the madness we did find time to celebrate my....twenty-seventh birthday...
     I did not cry when the clock struck 15:15 on September 15th. Instead we were hiking up Chimney Rock Park in North Carolina. I wanted to celebrate the aging process doing something productive and vital. What better than a strenuous five mile hike after a Starbucks pumpkin spice frappuccino?! Extremely caffeinated and dressed appropriately (I wanted to wear my moccasins for a Pocahontas meets North Face look but Le Fiance was very firm on his opinion to wear my tennis playing shoes, thankfully I actually listened to him this time) we made our trek though the North Carolinian mountains.

Leggings: Forever 21, Tunic: Old Navy, Hoodie: Victoria's Secret

     I decided to go with muted tones and a hint of neon. This was solely for the paranoid idea that if I became lost in the man made trails then I would be able to fashion a bright neon pima cotton flag, allowing a search team to find me before I got hungry or my eyeliner decided to wear off.

Le Fiance and I avec le wilderness.

      Before we left the house Le Fiance packed a survival backpack. He brought items such as a compass, some kind of knife or whatever, matches, and a bunch of other boring things. I packed my own survival gear of cinnamon pumpkin hand sanitizer, lip gloss, skin enhancing body spray, moccasins, a scarf, and deodorant.

Le Nature.

     Chimney Rock State Park is beautiful. They actually filmed the last seventeen minutes of the movie The Last of the Mohicans there. I don't necessarily remember the movie (though it is on our Netflix cue) but I do remember Daniel Day-Lewis.

Over 400 stairs that day.

2,280 feet high.

Le Butterfly.

Homemade jams and butters.

      After about four hours of hiking, we went to the little mountain town to become tourists. My survival gear proved to be more useful as I replaced my tennis with moccasins, my hoodie with an infinity scarf, took my braids out, and applied a bit of lip gloss with a finishing spritz of body spray. We found our way into a sweet little fudge shop (pun intended) and rewarded ourselves with some homemade peanut butter fudge.

Pumpkin butter.

     I also ended up buying a jar of homemade pumpkin butter to use on the Thomas' pumpkin spice bagels I just bought.

Scarf: Forever 21, Moccasins: Minnetonka Thunderbird, Wallet: Coach Zippy

      After the fudge shop we made our way to a cute little riverside diner where we splurged in chili cheese fries. We figured all of the hiking meant that the rest of the calories we consumed for the day didn't count.

Nom nom nom.

     I ended up sleeping on the ride back home. We finished the birthday celebration with a margherita pizza, carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and a bottle of Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale. I feel as though fall officially starts on September 15th. I also feel that twenty-seven is going to be one of the best years yet. I may have to slather on an eye cream with retinols but I'm okay with that. I have Le Fiance, Sir Archibald Wooflesworth, a loving family, and a homemade jar of pumpkin butter.

wrinkle-free vitamins.

     It is a t-minus five day countdown until the big 2-7 this week. I would love to post cute clothes I am wearing but alas, I have been working since Friday so my wardrobe has consisted of my regular uniform. Black leggings, black tunics, black sweaters, and black Coach flats. This is torture when I'm craving mustard yellow and garnet burgundy. Back to topic though, a while back I started by anti-aging skin care vitamins. I thought I would re-share that video with you all! I'll post a picture of my skin after Saturday!

campfire brownies.

     Baking is therapeutic to me. If you ever check my nook you will find that my magazine subscriptions consist of Vogue, Teen Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Taste of Home, Food Network, and Martha Stewart everything. So, it was no surprise that on our mini-vacation this week I had to bake something. I made a double batch of what I like to call campfire brownies. They are relatively fat-free and have that camping in the woods sugary taste without the mosquito bites or dirty hair.

Cost per batch: around $3.00

      I had already packed a small grocery back of the necessities. One brownie mix (they usually cost around a dollar), one can of diet coke (this takes place of the eggs, water, and oil), a premeasured ziploc of mini-marshmallows (1/4 cup), and around six low-fat honey graham crackers. Keep in mind I doubled the recipe for the 7" X 11" pan so I had two of everything. So Noah.

Whiskin'.

 First I preheated the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit. Then I whisked the brownie mix and the diet coke together. Finally I poured the batter into a greased baking pan. I put the creation in the oven for twenty minutes.

Campfire Brownies (without chocolate syrup) = 160 calories per brownie, 2 grams fat, 21 grams sugar

After about twenty minutes I took the brownies out and poured my marshmallows happily on the semi-backed brownies. Then I smashed my graham crackers to smithereens and dusted them on top. I put the brownies back in to back for another six minutes. Once the timer went off, I took them out and topped it off with a lattice of chocolate syrup because I was feeling frisky. Probably the closest to camping I will get for the year.

cafe stripes and southern sunshine.

Dress: LC Lauren Conrad, Shoes: SoHo Soles, Sunglasses: Forever 21, SPF: Cetaphil spf 15

     On Tuesday, after a brief morning of work, Le Fiance and I packed up the car, ate MacDo (don't judge, it was delicious), and made the four hour drive to his Father's house with the tunes of Michael Buble and a torrential down pour. Luckily, the next day was bright and sunny without a cloud nor raindrop to be found. We had a lovely time with his family and were able to relax for a moment, even if it was only two days. I drank lite iced mochas, did an enzymatic facial peel, didn't put make up on until after noon, and wore the rest of my summer dresses that had yet to be worn.

Love the neutral strips on this summer maxi.

In need of some sweet tea and shade.