The Perfect Scents for Autumn

Friends, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. The best part of autumn is the smell, and don’t argue with me on this one. Whether it’s a sickeningly sweet pumpkin aroma, or the tang of spicy cinnamon, the scent of fall is fantastic. For me personally, when I look back on memories through this season, it’s as if they are stained with the remarkable scents. Not a distinct smell, but a smell that is recognizably “fall-ish”. When I was younger, my mom always had this candle she burned throughout the house that was called “heirloom pumpkin” and IT WAS THE BEST SMELL EVER. To me, it was the smell of coming home to freshly made pumpkin bread, it’s the smell of running through the rain after getting off the school bus and coming inside to a warm house where my mom was there to greet us with hugs. I’m telling you guys, memories have a scent. Okay, so maybe it’s the other way around, but you know what I mean.

            As I am an avid Bath and Body Works customer, I get an email any time there is a new “impossible to turn down deal”.  As I sat in study hall, I got a notification that said if I ordered RIGHT NOW, that I would get a free autumn scented candle with ANY PURCHASE. AHHHHHH!! OF COURSE, I WILL GLADLY SPEND A STUPID AMOUNT OF MONEY IN ORDER TO GET A “FREE” CANDLE! Let me tell you, it was so worth it. The two candles I have from their fall collection are the “Pumpkin Pecan Waffles, and Heirloom Pumpkin”. Both are amazing scents, and yet they are completely different.

            Pumpkin Pecan Waffles is very much as it sounds…VERY sweet. It’s the perfect amount of sweetness to fill a room with its scent without even burning the candle! Whereas the Heirloom Pumpkin is a definitely a spicy scent, filled with hints of cinnamon and clove. I have owned several Bath and Body Works candles and I have yet to be disappointed. Both are amazing, and THEY WERE BOTH A GREAT DEAL, I would definitely recommend purchasing one of their candles for this season!

My 3 Favorite Accessories

Over the years, it seems as if I have slowly started to develop my own personal “style”. *Shifts pretentious glasses higher up onto nose* WOW, so that makes me sound like I actually know what I’m doing (news flash: I DON’T). What I mean by this statement is that I have slowly began to understand what “look” I want to go for. I know what colors I love, and I know what kind of accessories make me feel like a queen. In this blog post I thought I would share my 3 favorite, simple, gold toned, jewelry pieces.

The first piece you see is the triangle necklace. I was able to pick this beautiful piece up at the boutique Florence Adams. It was only $11.00, and it has gone with almost everything! (SCORE!!) It is the perfect length to wear. It's slightly longer than a “choker” necklace, but short enough to wear you are able to see it above most t-shirts.

The second piece is a dainty bracelet from the Wet Seal. It is super cute, and so far hasn’t tarnished. AND, GUYS, IT WAS ONLY $2.00!! (Yes, I’m a geek when it comes to cheap jewelry.) My favorite part of this bracelet is the detailing on the two circles where the bracelet opens up. It’s very comfortable to wear, and easy to adjust the size of.

The final piece is the simple gold ring, and sadly I have NO IDEA where I got this ring! I must say, this was my FAVORITE ring to wear this summer. It was one of those rings that when I wore it I felt like I should be wearing giant glasses and listening to indie music, saying phrases like “don’t call me a hipster”. Please don’t question my thought process; this ring has magic powers. As autumn has rolled back into existence, I have found myself wearing it less, but it is still one of my favorites.

I'm excited to see what I can do with these pieces this fall, and to see how I can make them work with my abundance of sweaters and scarfs. Yay for neutral accessories that I can wear year around!

Heavenly Pumpkin Bread

Let’s kick off this autumn blog extravaganza with the beloved pumpkin bread. I personally had never made pumpkin bread before, but had always enjoyed eating it as a young kid. I was blown away with how easy, and delicious this recipe was, but decided to make a few changes to it. 

You will be able to tell from the photos below that I had a LOT of batter, and that was because I actually doubled the recipe. I have never made so much of one thing at a time…EVER. The recipe below is the original recipe (not doubled) and it will make 2-3 loaves of bread.

Ingredients

2 cups Canned Pumpkin

3 cups Sugar

1 cups Vegetable Oil

2/3 cup Water

4 Eggs

1 cups Whole Wheat Flour

2 1/3 cup White Flour

2 tsp. Baking Soda

1.5 tsp. Salt

2 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree
2. Mix Pumpkin, Sugar, Oil, Water, and Eggs in a large mixing bowl
3. In a separate bowl, mix together Flour, Baking Soda, Salt, Cinnamon
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients
5. After mixed well, divide the batter into 2-3 loaf pans
6. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until done (check with toothpick)
7. Enjoy!

I hope you all enjoyed this post, and I hope it got you in the mood to enjoy the sweet and tangy taste of pumpkin throughout this season, happy baking!

The Aura of Autumn

“Autumn, the year’s last loveliest smile”

-William Cullen Bryant

I couldn’t have said it any better myself. It’s true, Autumn is like a big warm hug from a friend you haven’t seen in ages. It’s the smell of homemade hot chocolate. It’s the feeling of wearing what seems like 1000 layers of sweatshirts at a football game. It’s the glistening of the fairly lights that dangle from every corner of your room. It’s the sweet scent of cinnamon. It’s the quirkiness of a small town pumpkin patch. It’s the hustle and bustle of the various fall festivals throughout the county. It’s the brilliant shades of orange, red, and mustard yellow. It’s the jazzy, indie music that’s on every autumn Spotify playlist. It’s the chilly breeze that swirls your hair up into the air. It’s the sounds of leaves crunching underneath your boots. It’s that time again friends, Autumn has arrived.

I’ve always loved fall, and the older I have gotten the more I get ridiculously into the season. I just can’t help it, how could you not get excited about pumpkin scented/flavored EVERYTHING!? How could you not be ecstatic about wearing sweaters and scarfs?! Okay…maybe its just me. 

            Last year was the first autumn I had ever been employed, and sadly it made the season a bit lack-luster. I felt as if I couldn’t enjoy the season while I tried to balance school, band, and work EVERYDAY. So as I watched the season creep up once again, I decided that this year, autumn was going to be a priority. Trust me, I realize how stupid that sounds, BUT this is my FAVORITE time of year, and I am determined to make the most of it!

            This fall I plan to post quite a lot on my blog about the little things. Whether it’s the stellar cup of hot chocolate I had, or if its’ about a cute little pumpkin patch, I want to blog about it. I love reading through old blog posts, and I can’t wait to be able to look back on this autumn and see/read through all of the memories that brought me so much joy.

Here’s to the best autumn ever.

My Collection: SKIRTS

As someone who has a tendency to collect things, I decided to use this bad habit as a blog post!

My first "collection" hasn't gotten too out of hand (yet) but is quickly growing. I work at a job where you are required to dress up everyday, and after nearly a year of wearing nothing but khakis and slacks, I finally caved and invested in a few skirts. I was wonderfully surprised with the prices of all of these skirts, because I was lucky enough to find them for great prices!

The first skirt is from a brand called "Wearever" and I picked this up at Gordman's. It's a simple skater skirt, that goes right at finger tip length. I typically pair this with a nice t-shirt (tucked in) and a pair of nice sandals. I recently was trying to figure out a way to make this skirt autumn wear as well, and it surprisingly paired VERY nicely with a sweater I have! This skirt (if I'm remembering correctly) was $10

The second skirt is from The Wet Seal. I was wonderfully surprised to be able to find clothing in The Wet Seal that fit onto a curvy body, and especially for $5!! This also is a skater skirt, and goes a little past finger tip length. The coloring is more of a nude, with a slight pink to it.

The third and final skirt is hands down my favorite. I got this at a boutique called Florence Adams, and it is by a brand called "Twenty Ten". This skirt is much longer than the other two, and is a gorgeous floral print. It was $30, and is amazing quality material. I was also pleasantly surprised that you can't see through the white material! Who-Hoo!

Overall these skirts were definitely a GREAT purchase, and have been very versatile! All of them are very comfortable, and appropriate to wear in a business setting. Hopefully the collection continues to grow! :)