It's the Holiday Season

The last three months of the year are undoubtedly my favorite.  October is full of fall, and pumpkins, and warm colors. And don't forget Halloween. November marks the start of colder weather, which always kicks my home body tendencies into high gear. Then comes Thanksgiving with the great food and family time. Then the Christmas Season. Not gonna lie, I've been known to listen to Christmas music in July. Or even watch Elf in September. December means I can openly show my Holiday Love in stead of closeting my festiveness.
Last week bf and I went on the hunt for a Christmas tree! For the past three years I've had a 3.5 foot tree that fit nicely on a table top, but this year I had my heart set on a full size tree. Target pulls through again, and we bought a 7ft slim tree absolutely perfect for the spot right in front of the window.

My favorite ornaments: the pine cones

Cozying up on the couch with a book and some hot tea in the glow of the Christmas tree is one of my favorite feelings in the world. 

Close your eyes and breathe. I smell snow.

Lorelai: Wait, close your eyes and breathe. I smell snow. 

Rory: Ah, it's that time of year. 

Lorelai: Can't you smell it? 

Rory: You know, it's like dogs and high-pitched noises. I think it's something only you can smell. 

(From Gilmore Girls episode "Love and War and Snow")

Snow guys! Snow! The first real snow is a worthy holiday in my book. I love snow. I love how it makes the world look like a Christmas card. I love how it gets me into the holiday spirit (not that I need much assistance in that area). I love how it makes the trees and the road sparkle and how pretty holiday lights look under a nice healthy blanket of snow.

I celebrated the first snowfall with my aunt creating a holiday surprise for my grandparents' Christmas decorations, sipping coffee and chatting away while the snow steadily fell outside. It was lovely. The ride home took about three times as long as normal due to the roads being pretty slick but I didn't mind one bit. Driving through big fluffy snow flakes and listening to carols is one of my favorite past times.

After a nice hearty dinner ("meatloaf muffins, baked potato and corn), I've settled in with Elf and a giant mug of mint hot chocolate. Do you love the first snow, or does it just stress you out?

Harvest colors

Seriously you guys, I can't stop making boards on Polyvore. I've made one for what I would wear on NYE if I were going somewhere fancy, one with colored skinny jeans (I desperately want a pair), and one for my ideal living room. I won't subject you to all of the boards I've created, but I thought I'd share this one.
 

Surya ART81-23 Artist Studio Small Rug, Spa Blue - Home Furniture..., $113, Ferm Living Power Birds Wall Sticker – Black, $110, KARMA LIVING Pom Pom Blanket Yellow, $60, Product Detail - Bright Fringe Pillow, $17, Highbury Fall Garden Dupioni Pillow, $29, Cinnamon Chai 22oz Soy Candle: Home & Garden, $15, IKEA Rotera, $3.99, View All Candles - Candles - Bath & Body Works, $2.50

I'll be working this Thanksgiving, so I won't be headed back to Wisconsin for the holiday. I briefly considered making a small Thanksgiving feast and hosting a few friends but since I'll be working third shift the night before I just don't see myself having the time or energy to do all of that cooking. Especially since I've never even attempted to make that much food at once before. If I had decided to have friends over for the holiday meal, I'd want all of these things making my apartment festive and cozy. 

PS- Have you tried Woodwick candles yet? They are fabulous! Not only do they smell wonderful, but the wood wick crackles as it burns and creates the coziest atmosphere. 

Grey Skies

Lately, I've found myself drawn to all things sequins. And grey. Thanks to my new obsession with Polyvore, I get to share some of the sparkles that are sparking my interest {sorry, couldn't resist}.

{Those Old Navy flats actually ended up in my shopping bag yesterday. I can't wait to wear them this weekend! }
 Dolman sleeve sweater: $22, Slim blazer: $44, Miss selfridge: £20, Old Navy ballerina shoes: $15, Red Herring python handbag: £20, Forever21 cuff jewelry:$13

In addition to playing on Polyvore, shopping, and working, I've been spending the past few days reading Cheetah is the New Black. All the way through. I believe I've only done that with one other blog to date. The author of Cheetah is just so sweet, I couldn't stop reading! I feel like we could be friends. Plus, I want to shop in her closet.

Today, I baked.

Did you know that it has been a week since my last post?! I did not realize it had been that long.

Since my last post I've taken a trip home, attended a breakfast for a good cause, did some shopping, and worked a whole lot. 

Today was my first day off in what felt like a really long time (It's really only been like 4 days...). I started the day off by making some more of that delicious granola from my last post, only this time I made the lower calorie version which substitutes applesauce for the oil. Now, normally I can't really tell the difference between "light" versions of foods and the full fat versions. This is not one of those times. The flavor of the granola is pretty good, but instead of crunchy bits of delicious you get larger clumps of chewy "okayness". I used it to top my breakfast yogurt and it was pretty tasty, but I won't be eating this by the handful like the last batch. 

After some early Christmas shopping and dinner with the boyfriend I came home and baked some more. I've been dying to make Pumpkin Scones and was super excited to finally have the time to try it out. I found a recipe from sparkrecipes.com. I had to make some substitutions due to the fact that I don't have an incredibly stocked pantry. I substituted the cloves with cinnamon, and had to replace 2 T of sugar with 3 packets of Stevia sweetener when I ran out of real sugar. 

I was a bit nervous since I've never made scones before, but they turned out fantastic! Leave it to me to bake scones the day I decide to start tracking my calories again. Well, here goes a lesson in self-disipline! 

{pumpkin shaped pumpkin scones}