how we wore it//fall transition

it's time for another round of how we wore it. here's how it works. brooke chooses an inspiration photo. we all style the look and post. check out brooke's post if you want to sign up for next month.

inspiration photo via Life with Emily

i love this look, but i was a little nervous about pulling it off. i didn't know what to wear on top until tiffany started showing me things in her closet. she had the perfect shirt. i already had the rest. since the weather is getting a teeny tiny bit cooler (high of 86 instead of 97), i am starting to go back to my signature cardigans so i added a cardigan to this look. 

shade cardigan|borrowed shirt|gap jeans|toms|michael kors watch|alex and ani bracelets|necklaces and earrings rocksbox (use code aubreyzarubaxoxo for a free box) photos bonnie check out how all the other bloggers styled this look.

Brooke at Silver Lining ..Robin at Penn and Quill ..Kyla at FordOlogy ..Bekah at These are the Days ..Sierra at Sierra's View ..Sharlee at My New Lines ..Aubrey at Aubrey Zaruba ..Jennifer at The Pepper Express ..Amy at Harris, Inc. ..Ashley at Absolutely Ashley ..Berkley at Berkley Anne ..Riley at Riley Jo ..Tayler at The Morrell Tale ..Jacqui at Drink the Day ..Stephanie at The Artist + The Architect ..Tori at The Doing Things Blog ..Ashley at Practically Imperfect ..Maren at Mark and Maren ..Brooklyn at Brooklyn Jolley ..Sarah at My For Real Life ..Kallie at Life Through a Lens ..Madison at Madison Custer ..Amy at Lamb and Ivy ..Alicia at Snowstorm ..Shelby at R + S Brereton ..Alexa at He and I

beauty time tuesday...perfume

is anyone else missing some form of the bachelor on monday nights? ok, if we're being honest i'm happy paradise is over, but i love blogging the bach on tuesday. since we have to wait until january for that to come back, i'm starting beauty time tuesday. i love all things beauty so i'm especially excited about this. let's start with perfume.

i like perfume. i wear it everyday, but i tend to only have 1 or 2 at a time. when they run out, i buy something new. i don't usually buy the same thing 2 times in a row even if it's something i love. i went to the store a few weeks ago for new perfume. even with sniffing coffee beans in between each sample, everything smelled the same so i decided to wait.

a few days later i met some friends at sephora and hit the perfume jackpot. 

gucci guilty, escada jjoyful, elizabeth and james nirvana white and black (my faves), fresh fresh life, bvlgari amnia crystalline, lancome la vie est belle

this set is amazing. i already know i love a few of the scents, and i couldn't wait to try the others. so far i love them all. the best part...it came with a coupon to take back to the store for a full size bottle. i don't even know how i'm going to pick a favorite.

does sephora always do this? please say yes because this is how i will be buying perfume for the rest of forever. do you have a fave perfume?

weekend happs

where did the weekend go? i kind of feel like it didn't even happen it flew by so fast.

i left work a little early (which is totally relative since I don't have a set schedule) to come home and pack. i drove up to ogden to pick up my race packet for my half marathon the next day. after i got my packet and some dinner i went to spend the night with ben and kate. we have been friends for over 10 years, but we don't see each other nearly as often as we would like. kate and i had the race to look forward to/freak out about the next day so we tried to get to bed at a decent time. i loved catching up with them, and i wish we still lived around the corner from each other.

i spend most of saturday getting ready for, waiting around, running, and recovering from the huntsville half marathon. i'll have a full recap later. it was a warm, sunny, beautiful day, and i'm in complete denial about the end of summer.

after the race i went to laurann's house for a relaxing afternoon, evening with laurann and michelle. we hung out, painted nails, went to dinner, tried out various lipsticks, and watched the LDS general women's meeting. i didn't feel the greatest after the race, so it was exactly what i needed.

sunday we had the primary program at church. the children present a program of songs and talks they've been working on all year. it's the sweetest most tender sunday of the whole year. i love the kids so much, and they did the best job.

i went outside 4 or 5 times last night to look at the moon. i loved it! almost every single one of my neighbors had their porch lights on. the light pollution kind of ruined things a little, but it was still really cool to see.

how was your weekend? any exciting happs?

foodie friday..homemade granola

I've made granola in the past, but it's been several years. A conversation with friends a few weeks ago reminded me to make it again. I don't have a lot of time in the kitchen so I always ask myself if it's worth the time to make it myself. Homemade granola is quick and easy and definitely worth making yourself. 

3 c oats

1 c coconut

1/2 c slivered almonds

1/2 c raisans

1 tsp cinnamon 

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (optional)

Stir and coat in 1/2-1 c honey. Spread on cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Let cool and crumble. Store in airtight container. 

All amounts can be changed to meet your tastes including honey. More honey/longer in the oven equals crunchier granola. 

Do you have any recipes that are definitely worth spending the time in the kitchen?

it's a ...(margarita+brad gender reveal)

i did another gender reveal cake last week. margarita told me she liked the yellow ombre cake i made, but she wasn't too picky. since bachelor in paradise is over, monday night tradish with celsey and friends is more open. we had dinner and got to work on the cake. since i had help, we decided to try something different. i LOVE the way it turned out-especially the top. this is definitely a 2 person job because you pipe a big dot and spread it with the back of a spoon. i will for sure do this again.

PS-it's a girl!

it's fall y'all

i love summer! i never want it to end. everyone is talking about boots and pumpkins and everything fall, and i'm over here celebrating the 90 degree weather we're having this week. this summer was really good to me, and i'm really sad to see it go. 

the biggest thing i dislike about fall is that winter comes after. i am trying to have a better attitude about summer ending. to help me (and you if you're struggling or celebrating). i've teamed up with some friends to giveaway a basket of fall fun.

One lucky winner will be spoiled with a new brown and white chevron scarf, Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin hand cream, Pumpkin Cupcake PocketBac, a mini Pumpkin Carving candle, OPI's 'A Great Opera-tunity' polish and a cute notebook to organize your thoughts. Enter with rafflecopter below.

i'm trying to focus on all the things i do love about fall-fall nail polish colors, pumpkin flavored everything, changing leaves, cardigans and scarves. ok so i don't really hate fall. i just wish summer could last forever and ever.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

weekend happs

i took friday off work so my weekend started a day early. i went to the eye doctor, got my car inspected, and met bonnie for blog pictures. 

lunch at pei wei with running friends

state fair after dinner at francescas. 

stefanie insisted we all ride the big yellow slide

at the fair with tiffany, stefanie, sage, and brittany where we busted out the selfie stick. 

 i was only planning/mentally prepared to run 7-8 miles. my running plans changed mid run, and i ended up staying the whole time to run 12. i struggled pretty much the whole time. i'm running a half marathon on saturday, and i hope i have a better day. even when i'm not running well, i love being outside and starting the morning with these ladies. 

tiffany's birthday was on saturday so we spent the day celebrating. we got massages, stopped at costco for a few things, swig for drinks and cubbys for lunch. 

after relaxing at the house for a couple of hours we went to tsunami for dinner. 

the brad paisley concert was the best end of summer concert. he's a great performer, and it was so much fun (and cold). 

we ended the birthday celebrations with appetizers at buffalo wild wings. we got home completely exhausted-a sign of a great day. 
i had dinner with my old roommates. am i the only one that didn't know rainbow chip is back?

how was your weekend? may exciting happs?

foodie friday...peanut butter chocolate cake

tiffany sent me a picture of the cake she wanted for her birthday-just the picture, not a recipe. luckily the picture made it look easy enough to make.

1. bake chocolate cake per directions on box

2. top with chocolate frosting. i used this recipe from just a pinch.

3. add peanut butter frosting to the top (mix buttercream frosting with 1 c peanut butter)

4. drizzle with chocolate sauce. i used this recipe from whimsical whimsies

5.garnish with peanut butter cups

refrigerate between steps and when finished.

everyone loved the cake.

unblogged bloggable...the iron cowboy 50/50/50

people tell me i'm crazy for running marathons or getting up at 5 (or earlier) in the morning to run. maybe i am crazy, but maybe crazy isn't the right word. 

i heard about the iron cowboy and his plan to do 50 iron man in 50 days in all 50 states to raise money for the jamie oliver foundation to end childhood obesity. a lot of people probably called him crazy. 

i started following him around day 35. it was a unique certainly challenging goal and probably a little crazy, but it was also one of the most inspiring things i have ever seen. 

he organized a community 5K at the end of each event. his family including wife and 5 kids traveled with him, and his daughter ran every 5K with him. he is from utah so day 50 was in utah and ended with a big celebration. 

tiffany and i went to the event. we planned to do the 5K, but we didn't want to miss his actual finish. 

watching someone cross the finish line of his 50th and final full ironman in 50 days in every single state was absolutely amazing. the body is incredible, but the mind is even more incredible. it's hard to make excuses when you witness something like that. 

wear it wednesday

yes, these are the same pictures i posted the other day, but this post is all about the clothes. old navy has always been pretty hit or miss for me. lately i think it's more hit than miss.

old navy dress|nordstrom cardigan| jessica simpson heels|necklace c/o rocksbox

i love cardigans! it's been pretty hot this summer so i had to ditch them. i am so happy to wear them again. it's also a great way to add some color.

random rambling...biting the bullet...

i posted these pictures on facebook (because I needed them) with the caption biting the bullet...

i'm not usually one for vague posts on social media, but i kind of wanted to see what people would say:) some people commented on my dress, my shoes, etc, and a couple of people commented on the caption.

i've been pretty vocal about my avoidance of online dating. i had one excuse after another for not doing it, but

1. i'm running out of excuses 

2. i'm not meeting anyone any other way

3. turning 36 is scaring me to near death

i was visiting some friends last night. in the middle of chatting, dana grabbed my phone off the table and started signing me up for tinder. i didn't stop her. 

dana has done online dating with a lot of success (and a few good stories), and she's been trying to get me to do it ever since we met. she's offered to do it for me many times. i decided earlier this year if anyone was serious about doing it for me, i would let them. so when she started i didn't stop her. (side note-she definitely wouldn't have done it if I didn't let her).

she picked my pictures, and we decided i needed one of just me. since tinder pulls from facebook, i had to post the few pics we took to have access to them. she wrote a very brief profile and started swiping. we've been good friends and roommates so i totally trust her. 

part of me wants to tell the whole wide world. the other part of me doesn't want to tell a soul, but here i am sharing this experience for the whole wide world. 

since we're being honest my biggest excuse for not doing it was/is i don't want to have to do it. i want to get set up on an amazing blind date (doesn't anyone have an amazing single brother or cousin or neighbor?!?), meet someone at a marathon or church, or pretty much any other way. the bottom line is I'm not meeting anyone any other way, and i really don't want to be single forever so here i am. the bullet has been bitten. i'll check back in soon and let you know how it's going.