Baby Shower!

Today I was lucky enough to attend a beautiful baby shower that was to honor my best friend Ally's sister, Kristin.  She is SUCH a sweetheart and she is due mid-December, she cannot wait to have her beautiful little baby boy.  Ally lives in North Jersey, too far if you ask me.  We always talk about how much it stinks to not be so close to each other all the time just incase we want to pop out for lunch or errands together.  We met in college and we have basically been pretty much inseparable since then.  We video chat waaaaaay too much, it's sick actually.  Maybe one day she will do the best friend tag with me on my YouTube channel.  

ANYWAY!  Back to the shower.  It was held in a beautiful clubhouse up north.  We went in the day before to help with getting things ready because as you can see there was a lot to do before all of the guests were set to come at 1pm the next day.  Want to hear something insane?  Ally's mom cooked EVERYTHING.  She cooked all of the food for about 45-50 people and she brought everything to the clubhouse.  It was really nice to have someone there to help her so she hired a sweet woman who was there to help with set up, serving and cleaning.

The above is a panoramic view of the entire room where the shower was taking place.  It really was an adorable space.  I don't know if you can tell but there is a little alcove in the bottom section there where theres a fireplace that was lit for the guests and thats also the area where they kept the food.

When you first walked in the door as a guest you saw the desert table to the immediate right.  It was adorably lined with a gorgeous cake, mini cupcakes, cookies, apple crumb and coffee.  What an amazing taste to start off fall with.  As you walk further into the venue you would have seen the cutest little fish net and the walkway lined with lit candles.  How could I have forgotten to mention the adorable little buoys that were strategically planted in random places in the room for an added touch to the theme.  Don't mind Ally randomly on her phone here, sorting out last minute stuff. 

Probably one of my favorite things about the shower, aside from the theme as a whole, was this clothing line that was hung up along the windows.  All of the clothes were purchased by Kristin's mom and hung up along the windows.  She is going to spoil this baby rotten and it is ADORABLE.  I wish I had gotten closer to take some more pictures but some of the outfits and onesies were so cute saying things like 'Whine Expert' with grapes on it, etc.  How cute are those lanterns on the table!?

Look close and you'll see unexpected details like the royal blue napkins wrapped up in twine, perfectly fitting the theme.  Also, the votives surrounding the centerpieces that were cute little lighthouses.  Not to mention the tablecloths were even beautiful!

Mmmm, look at that taffy!  It was delicious.  Also, how cute are these mason jars?!  I know this is super trendy but I don't know, I think it's SUPER cute.  The little details and the personalization make it so adorable and fun.  These could be taken home as favors if guests really wanted to and were perfect for the Prosecco and other assorted alcoholic beverages for the non-pregnant.  ;)

I wish I had taken more photos of the food and the champagne bar, the homemade sangria and the water/sparkling water section, the gifts and the desert.  I didn't though but my best friend and I were happy to have spent some time together as we live so far away from one another and we never get to.  I also wish I took some photos of my outfit because it was a really cute one!  I'll leave you with these photos.  One is the two of us at the head table and the other, just a selfie.  :)

Thanks for reading!  I cannot believe it's November already, the holiday season is coming up.  Are you ready?  Did you start your shopping?  I know it's sick for me to ask that but.. it's now a relevant question.  I cannot wait to start obsessively baking, decorating and just enjoying everything.  Thanksgiving is going to be wonderful as well and I just cannot wait to spend time with my family.  Send me a tweet or leave a comment and let me know what you're excited for.  -Brit.

Pumpkin/Apple Picking!

Let me start this by saying that I couldn't be more thankful for the beautiful family I have.  I don't even know where I would be in my life without my most loyal and loving supporters, my family.  

On Sunday, we went to this pumpkin patch and apple orchard about 40 minutes away from my house called Battleview Orchards.  We have been going there for a couple of years.  I love the pick your own aspects and they have an awesome store to go in and grab a bunch of homemade snacks, baked goods and their famous delicious cinnamon donuts.

     

              

It was also my aunts birthday and we were very happy to go out and get celebratory beers and dinner.  We went to 'The Cabin' in Freehold, NJ and it was so delicious.  I have been there so many times and I always love it.  Where are your favorite places to eat?

Send me a tweet and let me know if you go apple/pumpkin picking!  Also let me know where you like to go for celebratory dinners.  Thank you so much for reading -Brit.

Chop-Sticking To My Story

Probably one of my favorite posts of Blogtober!  I don't know why I'm saying this when I'm only three days in, but I think it has something to do with the fact that this is nail polish and it's orange.  COMPLETE HAPPINESS.  I love this rich pumpkin color, it makes me so happy.

The color is called Chop Sticking To My Story by OPI and I couldn't love it anymore than I do.

What is your favorite color for the fall season on your nails?  I tend to love deeper colors and stuff when it gets colder, but this is definitely appropriate for fall and October in general!  Send me a tweet or leave a comment below.  Thank you for reading Blogtober!  -Brit.

Current Candle Crave: An Orange Glow

Upon my window sill this time of year,  I always like to make it look a little more autumnal.  This year I seemed to hold onto summer and decorate for the season at the same time with this candle.

As you can see, the entire candle jar is this grainy orange color.  From this photo, it looks like it fades to yellow because when its burning, the color at the top looks yellow but it's not like it changes color or anything.  It looks adorable!  The scent is nice, but only if you like coconut as the scent is Coconut Cedarwood.  The throw of the scent is pretty good as you do smell it throughout the room, but definitely not as fragrant as the candles I have had in the past from other places.  

One things for sure, I cannot wait to start burning my autumn candles but I just cannot do it when it still goes up to 75-80 degrees everyday.  Looking forward to getting more into the fall spirit in general and I think I'm on the way as I have been baking up a storm lately: red velvet chocolate chip cookies, caramel shortbread bars with chocolate, oatmeal cookies, nutella cookies and more.

What type of things do you do to get ready for fall?  Let me know in the comments or send me a tweet!  Thanks for reading and I hope you're loving Blogtober so far!  -Brit.  

Haute Hand Chain!

I don't think I can explain the lo0o0o0ove I have for this.  I have been seeing hand chains all over lately and I just had to get one for myself.  I wasn't sure how it was going to look on me so I didn't want to pay a ton for one of them, but I wanted to give it a shot anywhere.  

So with that in mind, I headed right on over to trusty Forever 21.  I was thinking about purchasing one there because I knew I was going to be able to purchase one for less expensive, but I also was concerned about it lasting and not breaking.  Also, about it changing my hand different colors (especially because I am constantly putting lotions and hand sanitizers on my hands throughout the day, which is surprisingly not impossible with this).  

The first hand chain that I actually purchased from Forever 21 DID BREAK.  I was so upset, but I was cracking my knuckles and bending my hands awkwardly, basically because something weird was on my hand.  It was almost the same sensation as if you had just read a story about bugs and you feel like there are bugs all around you.  I know you know what I mean.  

This didn't keep me from going back to Forever 21 and changing it for another one.  The sales associate told me though that, 'We don't normally return jewelry.. ummmm.. but you can get another one, i'll allow it this time.'  I was like um, okay.  It's not like I was asking her for a refund, I just wanted another bracelet that I bought that broke about four hours after me wearing it.  Not too sure it was a great choice to get another one from there, but I knew they weren't going to give me a refund so get another one I did!  Needless to say, it IS still kickin', so that makes me happy. I got it for $4.80.

Here is a little more of a close up on the details.  Another thing I noticed about these hand chains is that too many of them in the store have all of these obnoxious rhinestones and gross designs and I wanted something super simple.  I would almost be even happier with this if it didn't have the gold bar at the bottom, if it was just chain.  I really just like everything subtle but I guess it just depends on your style.  If you're curious, my nail polish color is China Glaze Prize Winning Mare.

What do you think of this one that I chose?  Do you have your own hand chain and if so, where did you get it?  I want to get another one maybe in rose gold or silver or something!  I think I'll check Etsy, Top Shop, etc.  If you have any suggestions, let me know by tweeting me!  -Brit.