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Friday, October 30, 2015

foodie friday...halloween food

growing up halloween always included 2 foods-chili and pumpkin sugar cookies. my mom makes the perfect sugar cookies. i've tried to make them a few times, but they are usually more frustrating than anything. i've kind of given up the past couple of years. the chili is pretty simple to make but not great for 1 person. basically i'm failing at tradition.

i might not be sticking with tradition, but i'm not neglecting the holiday completely. dinner group last night had a halloween theme.

janeal brought the appetizer-a simple guacamole/chips coming out of a pumpkin's mouth.
i made mozzarella breadstick bones with dipping sauce adapted from this recipe
angie made butternut squash soup-perfect for the cold weather that suddenly hit this week
i love themes and i love holidays. i've been trying to simplify my life a little, and this was a fun yet simple way to celebrate the holiday.

do you have any halloween food traditions?
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Wednesday, October 28, 2015

how we wore it//darker fall tones

i look forward to the how we wore it series every month. i make sure to sign up first thing and wait for the email from brooke. something happened this month, and i never saw the email. luckily i talked to sarah at the blogger sleepover last weekend to find out my name actually was on the list. i'm so sad i almost missed this month.

now for this month's inspiration photo...

my first thought was i have black jeans and a black bag, but what am i going to do about the rest of this look? i have no gingham in my closet. i ran into kohls the other night and found the perfect shirt-except it didn't fit well. i ended up finding a different shirt at walmart-for less than $10. i have been looking for more shirts so it was easy to justify.









walmart shirt|gap jeans|jellypop shoes|gifted bag|michael kors watch|alex and ani bracelets

sarah and i met for photos. i handed her my camera and didn't realize it was on manual until half way through--hence the over exposed photos in the beginning. oops

to sign up for next month, go to brooke's blog for details. 
check out how everyone else wore it

Brooke at Silver Lining
Alexa at He and I
Aubrey at Aubrey Zaruba
Hannah at Hannah Rae
Sierra at Sierra's View
Sharlee at My New Lines
Berkley at Berkley Anne
Amy at Harris Inc.
Brooklyn at Brooklyn Jolley
Amy at Lamb & Ivy
Autumn at Stay Gold Autumn
Brielle at Breezy and Co
Riley at Riley Jo Blog
Maren at Maren and Co
Kyla at FordOlogy
Robin at Penn & Quill
Shelbie at R+S Brereton
Jennifer at Jennifer Sikora
Deidre at Deidre Emme
Rachel at Rachel Sayumi


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Tuesday, October 27, 2015

beauty time tuesday...a halloween announcement

meet jen-local utah makeup artist. 
she has a long list of other credentials including being one of the nicest people i know. 

she LOVES halloween! she's combining her love of halloween and makeup for a sephora gift card. head on over to her instagram @classycozmetics for all the details.
now if we could all be as cute as jen.

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Monday, October 26, 2015

random rambling...thinking about the why

i had some great conversations this weekend with some friends about the why. this wasn't the first time i have thought about this. there was a presentation last year at build your blog on discovering your why, but unfortunately i missed that class. it seemed like a great thing to think about, but i quickly forgot about it.

my conversations this weekend centered around blogging and social media posting. why am i blogging? why am i posting on instagram? what is my purpose? and what is my goal? are my actions matching up with my why? 

these are all great questions and got me thinking beyond this space. right now is a really great time for me to evaluate all areas of my life. are the things i am doing helping me achieve my purpose?

before i'm ready to discuss more about my why, i need to do some serious thinking. in the meantime, i want to hear from you-tell me about your why.

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Friday, October 23, 2015

foodie friday...twice baked potatoes

the thought of twice baked potatoes always intimidated me a little, but ever since i made twice baked sweet potatoes for the first time, i realized they really aren't that hard at all.

bake potatoes in the oven at 400 degrees for 40-60 minutes
cool and cut in half length wise
scoop out potato leaving skin shell ( i did 6 potatoes)
make mashed potatoes for filling
potato from 6 potatoes
1/2 cup milk
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c butter
3/4 c cheese
garlic salt to taste
mix ingredients with hand mixer. i like them creamy but not completely smooth
stuff potato shell with mixture
bake at 350 for 5-8 minutes


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Thursday, October 22, 2015

fun at the pumpkin patch

i spent the past week in california visiting chelsea and her family. ashley was there for part of the time too which made it even more fun. we went to the pumpkin patch last weekend. we picked out pumpkins, rode rides, painted pumpkins, and took lots of pictures. the kids were so excited, and we had a really fun time.
















 







 





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