Happy Halloween!

I didn't have a post planned today, but after seeing so many fun Halloween ones in reader I decided to add one.  We didn't do anything for Halloween this year - hopefully we'll pass out candy tonight, if parents decide to bring their kids out in the 30 degree temperatures they're forecasting.  Sure feels like December in Boston today. 

It's a little sad we basically skipped the holiday this year - I grew up in Salem, MA!  But maybe we were still getting over last year.  We went all out with our costumes for a The Devil's Chase road race in Salem.  Spent weeks planning and searching for the right elements, spray painted a ukulele gold, searched for the perfect color blue sweat pants, all to run 6.66 miles!

Matt has devil horns in his John Deere hat! Can you guess what I am?

Can you guess the "Devil" Matt dressed up as?

Here's another hint!

An avatar - I figured it'd make me run faster, and it did ;-)

Did you dress up this year? - How long did it take you to put your costume together? A quick trip to the store? or weeks of handmade planning?

30 Looks in 30 Days - 5 thru 11

This challenge is hard!  I'm trying to stick with it, but a mix of me traveling so much this month, and only 20 items putting a is damper on my creativity.  I am getting out of it so far what I wanted though - which is to try new combinations and dress more professionally at work.  

My first 5 looks are here.

Onto the next ones: 

Looks 6 & 7: Both work at the regular office.  

Day 6: Shirt: Banana, Trouser Jeans: Gap

Day 7: Shirt: REI, Jacket: Banana, Dress Pants: Gap

Looks 8 & 9: Both work at the regular office, look 9 included dinner with friends

Day 8: Jacker: H&M ($12 score at consignment shop!) Shirt: Loft, Trouser Jeans: Gap

Day 9: Shirt: Banana, Jeans: Banana, Boots: L.L. Bean

Looks 10 & 11: First on work at regular office, second look work at construction site

Day 10: Dress Pants: Gap, Shirt: Banana, Sweater: Gap

Day 11: Jeans: Old Navy, Shirt: Banana, Pearl Necklace: I made it!

Hopefully I'll have more looks to show you soon.  I don't know if I'll make it to 30 - the traveling makes it really hard, and I'm finding it a little boring with the few shirt options.  But I'm going to keep playing, and I'll keep sharing!

What I'm Pinning - Sister Craft Projects!

My sister has joined my obsession with Pinterest! We have been sharing a board to pin ideas for her up coming summer wedding.  Recently though, we just started a board of craft projects we want try together.  We are both so busy all the time, but hopefully we'll carve out some time to tackle these fun projects - they'll all be great activities to do together. I'm thinking these few will be good ones to start with:

Source: bystephanielynn.com via J Banville on Pinterest

Source: maillardvillemanor.com via Miss on Pinterest

Source: maybematilda.com via Miss on Pinterest

All of these images have the Pinterest link and then in-turn, the links to the respective crafters embedded. So please; if you'd like to also pin these fun projects follow the links back to Pinterest so these crafting super heroes can get all of their well deserved credit.
What craft projects are you trying from Pinterest? Any plans to do them during a craft party with family or friends?

Food Network Mag Review - October 2011

I'm excited to share another Food Network Magazine review with you! I'm very late sharing, seeing as though Halloween getting really close, but a lot of my top picks from this issue will be great for all the other fall meals coming up.

My husband loves hot pockets so we had to try these! The dough was a bit hard to roll out so in the future I might use pizza dough instead.  This chorizo recipe has just enough spice. I'm also determined to figure out a good way to freeze them.

Page 94 Hot Pockets
Spicy Chorizo Pockets
I have an arsenal of soup recipes from this magazine. We tried the cover recipe. It's good and easy but I'd recommend their clone of Panera broccoli cheddar soup instead, now that's delicious! 
Page 108 Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This weeknight dinner has quickly become a favorite; we've had it twice in two weeks.  Hubby doesn't like gnocchi so we substituted with cheese tortellini, it's a perfect fall meal, you HAVE to try this if you try anything from this issue.
Page 112 Gnocchi with Squash and Kale

We tried this side dish with parsnip instead of celery root and it would be great for Thanksgiving. Page 127 Roasted Celery Root and Carrots

We haven't tried this cocktail yet but it's beautiful, so I want to!  It helps that it sounds yummy too!
Page 131 Cider Jack cocktails 











This is my part of the review where I tell you just buy the issue; I can't reveal everything! There are so many pumpkin desserts that I'll bet you can't find enough occasions to make each one this fall.  Get the magazine and save them for next year!  I've tried the whoopie pies so far and they were a huge hit.
Page 136 all kinds of pumpkin desserts need magazine

Also, the October issue is full of fun halloween treats that aren't available online, so you'll need the issue to see them. But, I'll let you in on one, "frost" nutter butter cookies with fluff to make ghosts, add gel frosting for little eyes - so cute and I'll bet, delicious too.

Enjoy!

- All photos used in this post are from http://www.foodnetwork.com/ And no - Food Network does not give me anything for saying how awesome this magazine is - although that'd be super if you're listening FN! ;-) 

What I'm Pinning - Autumn Decor

I've had autumn on my mind lately, the beautiful colors of the season, and the excitement of Halloween.  I usually don't decorate very much if at all for holiday's in my tiny little apartment.  This year I did small things - I bought a Thankful scented candle from Yankee Candle and I painted a pumpkin with chalkboard paint!
I have seen some great things on Pinterest lately and with all the blogs featuring favorite pins I thought I'd try it out this week.  These are some of my favorite fall decor ideas:

Source: bedifferentactnormal.com via Miss on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Miss on Pinterest

Source: parents.com via Miss on Pinterest

Source: simplyvintagegirl.com via Miss on Pinterest

If you'd like to pin any of these items to your own board please follow the link and give the owner credit.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  Have you been pinning lots of thoughtful things for fall?

DIY - Autumn Craft Time

This DIY is very simple and does not count as me teaching you anything. It's more like an idea spelled out to help you get your creative juices flowing for Halloween decorations. And it's my first blog post done entirely with mobile devices! Photos were taken from an iPhone, emailed, uploaded and edited on an iPad, and this post is written by BlogPress.

I wasn't planning on any Halloween decor this year but who doesn't love to decorate pumpkins, especially when you have a long weekend devoted to crafting to fit it in. I didn't want to carve so it would last longer, and I thought about painting leaves but then I'd need paint. But I do have chalkboard paint!


First I washed all the dirt off the pumpkin. I chose one that was about the size of a soccer ball and had a fun stem. After that I just painted it with two coats of chalkboard paint, nothing special.





And this is my pumpkin done!


BOO!



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

30 Looks in 30 Days - 1 thru 5

And the challenge has begun!  I'm doing a 30 looks in 30 days challenge using 21 different pieces of clothing.
What I'm working with:

Three Blazers, sweater, tank top, button down, cardigan

Two t-shirts, blouse, dress, dress pants, trouser jeans, light wash jeans, skirt, black and brown boots, nude and black flats

The first five days have been super easy and this challenge makes it very easy for me to pack for my buisness trips.  I apologize for the horrible hotel room mirror photos, but I need to work with what I have.  Also - like workout clothes, I've allowed myself to make a few revisions as necessary for my job, seeing as though I'm on construction sites sometimes.  I wore work boots there (need to for safety!) and on day four the jeans are not in my 21 items, they are my waterproof travel jeans from Athleta. I feel like I'm doing pretty good and I'll post the next group of outfits next week.

Sunday - Day One - Night Out

Dress: Banana, Boots: L.L. Bean, Necklace: heirloom from my grandmother

Monday - Day Two - Work and Flight to Los Angeles

Jeans: Gap, Shirt: non-iron Banana, Shoes: DSW

Tuesday - Day Three - Work on Construction Site

Jeans: Old Navy, Tank: Loft, Blazer: Banana, Necklace: vacation  purchase (and yes, I wore my works boots with this!)

Wednesday - Day Four - Another Work day on Construction Site

Shirt: REI, Jeans: Athleta

Thursday - Day Five - Work Travel Day - Flight

Jeans: Gap Sweater: Gap

30 Looks in 30 Days - Getting Started

Has anyone seen the new Banana Republic add campaign, The Lucky Dozen? Someone from Style Magazine took 13 key pieces and styled them in 31 one ways. After seeing the add, I've decided to take on the challenge for the month of October. I've only purchased one new item and the rest will come from my closet. My reasons for taking the challenge:
1. I want to feel more put together at work and could use the coaching
2. I've gained a little bit of weight and lots of my clothes don't fit. With the challenge I can focus on using my clothes that do fit and work on the rest at the gym.
3. I can't complain all month that I don't have anything to wear.








I will be using a few more pieces than the 13 shown, mostly due to my travel schedule and working on a construction site when I am away.

My pieces:
1. Using two different cream colored detailed blouses
2. I'll be replacing the skirt with a light wash Jean
3. I'll be changing between black flats and black suede ankle boots
4. I'll be changing between nude flats and brown Oxford heels
5. This was my purchase, a light blue non iron button down
6. I'll be using my trouser jeans
7. I will brave a dress!
8. I'll be using dark gray dress pants
9. I'll be using a knit vest
10. I have a skirt picked out, or I'm replacing with skinny jeans
11. I have two dressy athletic tops - required for my active days on job sites
12. I'll be using a short sleeve black cable knit sweater
13. I'm cheating a bit here as well and will be incorporating three different blazers, black, tan, and brown

I hope to post the outfits I try each week. This week I will need to add in my travel jeans, the dipper Jean from Athleta. Plane travel and job sites call for rugged bottoms!

Have you done a mix and match clothing challenge before? Did you put together the outfits yourself? Or take some guidance from a pro?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad