In's and Out's

Here are my In's and Out's of the moment:

In's:
-Prairie Berry Pumpkin Bog Wine: This is my all time favorite wine of any wine I've ever tried! It's made at a winery in Hill City, South Dakota and this particular kind is limited edition and only available in the fall season.  I discovered this wine last year and I stocked up on several bottles.  Well, just tonight, I finished off my last bottle from last year--just in time for this year's batch to come out! Sadly, I just went to my local liquor store, and they did not have any in stock:(  I'm hoping it's still coming and it's not sold out already!
-Pumpkin Spice Lattes: YUM.  Nothing better on a cool fall day.  MMMMmmmmmm!!!
-Dark hair: In honor of the fall season, I just dyed my hair a dark brown.  I'm loving it!
-New seasons of TV shows: I'm loving Modern Family, Two and a Half Men, Real Housewives of OC and NJ, Glee, Real World and of course Jersey Shore.
-Fall: Is this obvious at all? I mean, all the previous items mentioned were directly related to the fall time!


Out's:
-Working: I would just like to be a stay-at-home mom to my puppy, please and thank you.
-Calories: I wish eating comfort foods did not directly effect your waistline.
-Netflix: They increased their prices, so we recently switched to Blockbuster's mail service.  Cheaper and handier because you can always swap out movies at the actually Blockbuster store versus just through the mail.
-Mailboxes: My husband accidentally backed my vehicle into a mailbox last weekend.  Now my vehicle needs to visit the fix-it shop.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a.......hot air balloon!

Last weekend, it was beauuuuutiful out.  We had our windows open to let in the breeze, and Ellie was chillin on the back porch in the nice weather.  My husband, a friend, and I were just relaxing on the couches.  All was calm.  Then, out of the blue, Ellie started going nutz-o on back porch.  Nutty like I'd never seen her act before.  She was legit frantically jumping up again the door trying to get in the house.  So we went to see what the heck she was going crazy for, and we saw these hot air balloons literally in our back yard!  It was crazy to see them so close.  And equally as crazy to see how Ellie knew something was not normal, and she did not like it! 

We've actually seen one way earlier in the summer land in the school playground that is right across from our house.  So this is not our first up-close-and-personal experience with the hot air balloons!

We've been seeing a lot of these all summer long.  I guess it's the new cool thing to do?!  Apparently, when you make an appointment, you have to be super open all day because they can call at anytime to say it's time to go, based on the weather, wind, and what-not.

Going in for a landing.....



Cake Balls

Cake Balls have kind of become the *new* cupcake.  Starbucks now sells them and "cake ball" cookbooks are popping up in the stores.  They are easy to make, but can be time consuming.  I made red velvet with cream cheese frosting, since it's my favorite.  Here's how it's done:

1. Bake a cake like normal.  This can be a box mix or one from scratch.  (Check out my red-velvet-from-scratch recipe a few posts back if you're feeling really domestic.)  I typically just use a box mix.
2.  Once baked and cooled, crumble the cake into tiny crumbles.  I just tear into it with my hands and put the crumbled pieces into a bowl.  I leave out the corners and even the edges of the cake if they are too browned. 
3.  Add 3/4 of a jar of frosting to the crumbly-ness and mix together.  (Sorry I don't have pictures of these steps.)
4. Then you just form the mixture into balls using your hands.  Place them on cookie sheets.  Place them in the freezer for about 2 hours to firm.

5. Melt chocolate chips or almond bark and roll the balls until fully covered.

6. Place coated balls on a cookie sheet to allow the coating to set up.  And I like to add a sprinkle of color on top, too!

I usually keep them stored in an air tight container in the fridge.  Yum Yum!

September Birchbox

Ok, so um, this is kinda embarrassing.  I'm just now blogging about the September Birchbox I received last month, when I should be receiving my October box within the week.  I suck at blogging.....Perez Hilton I am not. (Perez is the self-titled "Queen of Blogging".  I'm a huge fan and check his website more often than my e-mail.)  Anyweezy, if you don't know what Birchbox is, it's a monthly subscription where you receive a box of *high-end* beauty booty at your doorstep! (Think Nars, Stila, Keihl's, Philosophy, Zoya, etc.)  It cost $10/month and you can unsubscribe at anytime.  Visit birchbox.com for more info!
The box is always super cute with fun packaging.

I mean, really, what girl wouldn't love to open a box like this up every month?!

Here's a run-down of my September box:
*Incoco Nail Polish Appliques--Same thing as the Sally Hansen ones that have been so popular recently.  These came in a black snakeskin type of pattern....not so much my style.  In fact, I despise animal prints.  I figured I might try to use them around Halloween time.
*Jurlique Moisturizing Hand Sanitizer--Since I work at a hospital, I sanitize my hands all the time and they typically get dry because of all the alcohol.  So I liked the idea of this one being "moisturizing".  Does it really make a difference?  Not so much that I can tell.  But, like I said, I'm re-sanitizing or washing roughly every half hour.
*Jouer Enhancing Lip Treatment--I was excited to have a Jouer product because I had heard a lot about their products from missglamorazzi on YouTube.  I wish it would have been a product with some color versus just a lip balmy product.  But it does the job, nothing super special though.
*Some face oil that I'm not sure how or when to use.  My face has been breaking out bad lately, so I haven't tried this because I don't want to make my breakouts worse.
*Last but least (notice I left out the "not")....a Birchbox bracelet.  This went straight into the garbage.  I would never wear this.

Time for some honesty:
I LOVE the idea of Birchbox.  Before I signed up for it, I would watch YouTube videos of girls opening their boxes and they would have amazing stuff.  I'm talking Nars Multiples, full sized Stila eyeshadows, and other products that really make the $10 worth it.  I've been a member for 3 months, I believe, and honestly, I have not been overly in love with any of the boxes I've gotten.  I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt and will stick with it for a few more months, but if I'm still not super lovin' my boxes, I'll probs discontinue.  BUT, I just know that the month I quit, the box would be a-m-a-z-i-n-g and I'd be kicking myself.  So for now, my hubby doesn't know what "Birchbox" is on the credit card bill each month, so I'll roll with it.... :)

Front Porch Cozy

As I was uploading new pictures today, I came across some old pictures of these chairs I stained in the summer.  I meant to upload these shortly after I finished the project, but obviously I forgot....until now! 
We have a little porch/deck on the front of our house and I have always felt like we needed some sort of seating/decorated area.  Of course everything I wanted was vetoed by Hubby either due to price (he's a cheap scape) or practicality.  (For example: I wanted to get a swinging bench and attach it to the roof covering the porch.  What a cute idea, I thought!  It would fit there perfectly!  Well, Hub questioned what would happen to the window if the wind started blowing the chair back and forth?  Good point. 
Swinging bench=Broken window.)

Soooooo, I bought these Adirondack chairs for about $30 a piece....

....some stain.......

.....and got to work!

Brush on....

....wipe off. 

Repeat.

Over and over until......

VIOLA!

I bought some cute outdoor butt pillows to put on the chairs to add some color and comfort.  (I'm pretty sure "butt pillows" is the technical name.)    The hubby and I enjoyed spending a good amount of time sitting out on the porch during summer nights with a cocktail in hand.

Here are some pictures of the finished product.

Now we have our comfy, cozy spot!

Like Owner, Like Pup

Ellie and I spent the weekend doing the exact same thing: lounge on the couch with an US Weekly

Bath and Body Works Fall Scents

I love the Fall scented candles at Bath and Body Works and often wish I could wear the scents.  Enter these yummy smelling products.  There are four Fall body scents: Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin, Sparkling Berry Bliss, Cozy Autumn Vanilla, and Ward Harvest Apple.  My favorite is Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin.  I like this one because it's a candle scent, too.  Cozy Autumn Vanilla is similar to the Christmas scent Vanilla Bean Noel and Warm Harvest Apple is similar to Winter Candy Apple.    Each scent comes in the typical options: body cream, lotion, body wash, body spray, etc.  I'm sure they are only available for a limited time, so snatch them up while you can!

Autumn

Oooooopsy! So it's been quite awhile since I've posted!  I guess nothing that exciting has happened in the last month.   If this were my husband's blog, he would disagree and say that THE MOST exciting thing has happened in this last month.....College Football.  I say *blah*, he says *yeaaaah!*.  He can seriously watch football alllll daaaaaay long on Saturday and Sunday.  It's unreal.  I have to strategically find something we can both enjoy on the TV and then politely ask him if we can watch something we "both enjoy" for a bit.  Sometimes he approves, other times, I end up watching my own shows upstairs!  I don't mind a Husker's game, but that is about all.  One game every now and then.....not for hours on end for days.  Our poor pup has even been subjected to the Husker's hoop-la.  Here she is relaxing on the couch in her Husker's jersey, waiting for the game to start....

Alright, back to the title of this post: Autumn.  My favorite time of year! I love sweatshirt and jean weather.  And I love the crispness to the air.  So refreshing.  I even went for a run outside last night because I was enjoying the weather so much....and I NEVER run!  The leaves are juuuust starting to turn and fall.  I love the bright orange leaves.  And I love the scents of fall.  The candles from Bath and Body Works encompass the scents the best.  I will have a blog post on their best scents coming up soon.  OH and maybe the BEST part about fall?  PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES ARE BACK!  So Yum!
Ok, so this post is going nowhere fast.  Time to put on a cozy sweater and some boots and go get a Pumpkin Spice Latte!

Weekend Wrap-Up

I had Friday off of work because I worked the previous weekend.  So a 3 day weekend for me!  My best friend and I left Friday at 11 on a road trip to the lake.  It was also my county fair.  Our plan was to lay out Friday afternoon, then go to the concert at the fair (The Band Perry preformed!), then lay out again all day Saturday before he headed back home to our husbands and puppies.  Well, plan failed.  It was raining all day Friday.  So instead of laying out, we went to the fairgrounds and tromped around in the rain and mud....actually, it was kinda fun! :)  We had a snack of gyros, tacos, carmel apples, and cotton candy.  YUM!  Even though it is horrible for you, I LOVE fair food! 

We continued to walk around to look at some exhibits and pet some sheep and hogs.  As a kid, my friend and I were both in 4-H and had livestock at the fairs.  I was a sheep person, she was a hog person.  So we farm girls like to re-live our days in sheep/hog barns.  Actually, I have mixed feelings about the memories because at the time, I hated all the work that went into the animals and I just wanted to be off running around the fair with my friends rather than giving a lamb a bath!  But now, I like to think about those days and they were good times.  We also saw a donkey...my all time favorite animal!  (Odd, I know.)  Anyways, we also went and watch a hypnotist with my grandparents. 

We came back into the fair in the evening for the concert.  It was still raining, but luckily we had reserved seats in the grandstand, which has a canopy over it.  So we had perfect seats, but most everyone else was standing out in the rain and mud.  Yuck.  The Band Perry was so good!  I have their record, so I was familiar with most of their songs.  We then finished the night with more food: fruit kabobs and grilled potatoes.  Mmmm mmmm mmmmmm!

Saturday I woke up to a beautiful sunset on the lake.  It was chilly until about noon, so we didn't get as much sun in as we wanted, but we still got golden baked tans! :) 

Now it's Sunday, a day of rest and cleaning.

Carry On

Case Study, Lady Like, Carry On, Power Clutch

It's here! Essie's Fall 2011 Collection, Carry On.  I LOVE fall.  Fall smells, fall foods, fall colors, fall leaves, and fall nail polish collections!  I picked these colors up at Walgreen's.   I love that Walgreen's now carries these mini-collections (Apparently, drugstores do not recieve the entire collections, just a few of the shades.  Fair enough.)  Naturally, I grabbed all they had to offer off the shelf.  Here's my mini review on each of the 4 shades I got.

From left to right in the photo:
Case Study: This is a camel colored hue that is creaming and opaque with two coats.  I'm not sure how I feel about this shade on my skin tone.  I wore it yesterday and I'm just "ok" with it.  I feel it's a little too brown-y for me and not enough of a "nude" look.  But I do love a nude colored nail, so we'll see, I'll try it again.

Lady Like: Possibly my favorite.  I love it on my fingernails.  It's a dusty pink color that is neutral enough on the nail, but still a pretty color.  I like wearing crazy colors on my nails, but at work, I feel like it's a bit over the top.  So I find this a perfect shade that is a fun color, but still not totally whack-o for a professional environment.  I've worn it a few times already--and I'm wearing it right now!  It reminds me of my very first "high-end" nail polish, OPI's Not so Bora-Bora Boring.  Except OPI's has more sheen/shimmer where this one is just strictly creamy.

Carry On: Well, this is the big one...the one the collection is named after.  And I do like it.  This is more of a toenail color for me and I am wearing it on my toes right now.  Once we get further into fall/winter, then I tend to wear darker colors like this on my fingernails, but for now, it is happy on my toes:)  It's a very deep plum color.  No shimmer (like all of them I own from this collection).  After two coats, this color appears darker than what's in the bottle.  Some might think "black" if they don't look too close.  (Which, being on my toes, I kinda hope they don't look too close!  That might be awkward.)

Power Clutch: Dark grey and like nothing else I own in my collection.  I've read on other websites that this color has a "green" tone to it.  I do not see it, but maybe in the right light.  To me, it looks straight up dark grey.  This is pretty and dark on the nail after two coats.  Again, more of a toenail color for me.  I'll probably apply this one to my toes after Carry On starts to look rough and a pedi is needed.




Ohhhh pretty bottles

I'm hoping to get my hands on the remaining colors in the collection.  I definately don't need them, but ooooh I want them!  Here's a picture of the display and two other colors that are in the collection.  The names of the other two are Very Structured (burnt orange color) and Glamour Purse (nude color).


Eeeeeee :) This just makes me happy!  Like I said, I love the fall time!

Red Velvet Cake

Red Velvet Cake is my absolute favorite.  There is a real yummy cupcake store in my town that make the best Red Velvet.  I decided, "Heck, instead of spending $4.00 per cupcake, I can just make my own!"  Well that is false, but this recipe comes the closest (and I've tried a few).  I got this recipe from another blog and give them full credit, but I did make a change to the recipe.  This recipe called for a frosting that is cooked on the stove, not the typical cream cheese frosting we now associate with red velvet.  So I did a little research.  Turns out, waaaay back in the day, red velvet cakes were not made with cream cheese frosting, this developed some time later.  So historically, red velvet cake was made with this other cooked frosting.  Personally, I prefer the cream cheese frosting and will be making it that way instead next time.  This frosting is still yummy, but to me, red velvet and cream cheese are the perfect match.  Another fun fact: The red color of the cake use to come from beets!  Ewwww

Ingredients

• 1 cup Shortening
• 1-3/4 cup Sugar
• 2-1/2 cups Cake Flour
• 1-1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1 cup Buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Vinegar
• 1-1/2 ounce, fluid Red Food Coloring
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Cocoa Powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a large (18 x 12) sheet cake pan with nonstick baking spray. Be sure to get in all the corners of the pan.  Sift together cake flour and salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, stir together buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda. Add vinegar and stir. Set aside.

In a separate small bowl, mix together cocoa and red food coloring. Set aside.

Cream together shortening and sugar until fluffy. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk/egg mixture until all combined. Pour the red mixture in and beat until combined.

Pour batter into prepared sheet cake pan. Use a large offset spatula or knife to even out the surface. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and allow cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Allow cake to cool completely before icing.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

For options, here is the other frosting that was recommended:

Ingredients

• 5 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 cup Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 cup Butter
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar (not Powdered Sugar!)

Instructions

In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. You want it to be very thick, thicker than cake mix, more like a brownie mix is. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature. (I put mine in the freezer to cool while I prepared the next step and that was the perfect amount of time.) It must be completely cool before you use it in the next step. Stir in vanilla.
While the mixture is cooling, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. You don't want any sugar graininess left. Then add the completely cooled milk/flour/vanilla mixture and beat it  until it all combines and resembles whipped cream.

ENJOY!

Green Thumb

I love flowers and plants.  They do not love me. 
My mom is master gardener....literally, she took classes and earned the title "Master Gardener".  She always has beautiful, colorful flowers and knows how to put pretty combinations together.  So, naturally, I think this trait should be passed on down to me.  Not so much the case.  I'm being hard on myself; I'm not that bad.  But I have had to re-plant and re-pot many a flower.  So when something works, I'm very proud of it!  Here are a few photos of cute arrangements I've made lately:

These are succulents.  I've thrown away the little name cards, so sorry, I can't tell you their scientific names.  I love the pots they are in.  Too cute!  (FYI: This is my second attempt at succulents in these pots.  The first ones were dead within a few months.  I blame over watering and lack of sun.  So I've moved the new ones to the window sill and I will not be watering them.  Think they will live?! )

(Double FYI: Succulents are suppose to be extremely hard to kill.  Greeeeeeat for my self-esteem.)

This is my other little gem.  Again, I threw away the card, so I don't know the name of this plant, but one look at it and it stole my heart! So little and cute.  I found the container at a small gift shop and I bought the green moss to stick in the bottom for more color. 

As of now, everything is looking green and healthy....But I just planted them about two days ago.  Keep your fingers crossed for my little plant's lives!

Hello There!

Well, this is my very first blog post! I'm excited and nervous at the same time.  I started this blog simply because I love reading other blogs and learning about other people's lives and opinions.  This blog will be a place where I can post about anything and everything that happens in my everyday life.  That can include being a newlywed, baking, decorating, favorite make-up products, my cute puppy, or anything else my heart desires.  So that is where the blog name comes from: I'm just a normal "everyday" girl who wants to blog about a whirlwind or "twirl" of topics!  Make sense?? Hmmm...well it does in my head anyways!

So, for your enjoyment, I will end this first post with a cute picture of my puppy the first day we got her.  (She is a year old now, so this picture is a throwback.)