crushing for comfy

Everyone has their outfit "crushes" inspiration we get from people we see on the street or pinterest or wherever. Now that I work 5 days a week, I find myself longing for the days where I can be comfy and cute not dressy and cute and dressy. Lucky for me, life on a cookbook set is pretty casual but I don't think I can really get away with huge sweaters, warm scarves, and leggings but I've taken 3 of my comfy fall fashion crushes and made them a little more dressy for "casual friday"

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(tee.scarf.pants.watch.flats.)

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(sweater.scarf.jeans.wedges.bracelets.)

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(dress.sweater.boots.scarf.)

Today I am linking up with Long Distance Loving's Friday Fancies! Be sure to check out everyone else's outfit "crushes"!

What I'm Loving Wednesday: Gone Urban.

Lately, I have been loving everything at Urban Outfitters. Which can tend to make me feel a little hipster-ish but in a way its kind of like Anthro but I can kind of afford it more than I can Anthro. Here are a few pieces I have my eye on!

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staley makes and shoots: cream cheese pumpkin muffins

I think its safe to say everyone loves pumpkin and they love fall. So of course when the leaves start to change and the temperatures start to drop everyone breaks out their pumpkin and whips up their favorite dishes. Erika of Urban Grace, instagrammed this recipe and it seemed so simple I knew I had to give it a shot. All you need is spice cake mix, a can of pumpkin, some cream cheese and powdered sugar. 4 ingredients and you have major pumpkin delicious-ness!

mask monday

As you know, I am addicted to face masks. I am always looking for new masks to try and the other day I read this post and I knew I had found my next new mask to try.

I have read about the amazing benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar and my mom often takes "shots" of it for those benefits. I have never been ever to stomach it but I saw this mask that combined apple cider vinegar and Aztec Healing Clay. Now I had never heard of this but on the container it says  "Worlds Most Powerful Facial" so I was definitely intrigued. I found this clay at Whole Foods for only 7 dollars and the container is pretty big. I mixed a tablespoon of clay and a table spoon of vinegar and it makes a mud mask type mask. Its a little smelly but the smell is worth it!  I then left it on for about 15 mintues and you can feel it kind of "tingling." I washed it off and my face seemed brighter, the results kind of reminded me of after you peel the Boscia Black Mask off. My face then got a little red but the redness went down fairly fast and my face was left feeling super soft and cleansed. I had a bad experience with a DIY mask a few weeks ago and so I had a few breakout spots and I definitely think this mask helped. Some zits I had along my jawline are clearing up. The container suggests doing this mask once a week and I definitely think it will be a mask that I will be doing every week from now on. Its definitely a cheaper alternative to the Boscia Black Mask that will give you the same results.

Any homemade masks you have tried and loved? 

joseph gordon levitt--let's date.

As if I wasn't already crushing major on Joseph Gordon Levitt, this spread in the October issue of Glamour makes me want to date him more! Dreamy clothes and a cute guy, what could be better? 

What I'm Loving Wednesday: The Magic Brush

I absolutely hate drying my hair. I really think that between drying my hair and then curling it or styling it, the process of doing my hair takes me the longest in my mornings getting ready. My hair is thick so it takes a while to get the whole thing dry. About a month ago I came across this brush on Pinterest...

The Goody Quik Style Paddle brush. It claims to remove 30% more water than regular paddle brushes and cut your hair drying time down. I was weary,  how could a brush help remove more water? I thought I would give it a try though. I got mine at Target and I gave it a shot. I really think that it has cut down my hair drying time by a minute or two which isn't much but in the mornings when you are getting ready for work, every minute counts! What I do is, I brush my hair with the brush after I get out of the shower and before I start getting ready, then right before I dry my hair I run the brush through one more time and then dry my hair with the round brush as normal. This brush has rocked my morning routine and while it may not work for everyone, it has for me and I am loving it!

staley makes and shoots: chocolate, toffee, pretzel cookies

Everyday at work around lunch time, there is taste testing where anyone can go and try out recipes that are in development for future projects. People sit around a table and critique each recipe to make them perfect for the cookbooks they will eventually go in. The other day I went up looking for something sweet after I had eaten lunch and I found some cookies that were basically chocolate chip cookies mixed with toffee and pretzels. They were delicious. Since the cookies were only in taste testing, I couldn't get the recipe because the recipe hadn't been perfected yet so this weekend I made my own recipe just using the classic Nestle chocolate chip cookie recipe then adding in toffee bits and pretzels. They are the perfect salty-sweet combo and I think I will be making these a lot more! 

favorite fall fashion inspiration

I love alliteration and I also am loving this breeze of a cold front that came storming in last week and I hope its here to stay! I pulled out my new Frye boots and I'm not putting them away anytime soon. I took to my Pinterest to find some fall inspiration. I'm thankful for a work environment that is pretty business casual so I can dress it up or dress it down if I feel like it. I feel like I will be recreating these 4 looks pretty soon for work!

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pants.blouse.watch.flats.

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dress.scarf.boots.

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blazer.shirt.skirt.flats.

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top.jeans.scarf.bracelet.booties.

i wanna be like nicole.

I have always been a Nicole Richie fan. She was my favorite over Paris on the Simple Life and even when her life was a trainwreck and she was a skinny mini hot mess, I still was intrigued by her life. Now she has straightened up, gained some weight and is still pretty awesome. Her twitter feed is hilarious, her kids are presh and she and Joel Madden make an adorable couple. I love her House of Harlow and Winter Kate lines and now she has finally come out with a more affordable line at Macy's that will give you the same boho glam style like Ms. Richie herself. Here are a few of my favorite pieces.

peacock feather top

zigzag blouse (seriously obsessed with this one)

faux leather studded mini dress (look how Nicole rocks it!)

printed hi lo hem skirt

And more good news for us Nicole Richie fans, she has a perfume coming out soon too! I think she has done pretty good since her Simple Life days! 

What I'm Loving Wednesday: Finally Found a Perfect Foundation

For the past few months, I've been giving my makeup collection an overhaul. Investing in products that are long-lasting and good for my skin etc.. I have had a serious problem finding a foundation that matched well, stayed on all day and didn't break my face out. I had kind of settled on Benefit "Some Kind of Gorgeous" foundation which I liked ok but it really didn't have the staying power I wanted. I was starting to run low so I went into Ulta the other day and stumbled across a huge display for the new Urban Decay "Naked" foundation.

It was intriguing because they had these little sheets of plastic with various shades of foundation on them and you hold the card up to your face and where the card totally blends with your face is your "perfect" shade. I typically have trouble finding a liquid foundation that matches my skin tone but sure enough, there was a shade that blended perfectly with my skin. I decided to give it a try and prayed it didn't break my face out. I am 3 weeks into using this foundation and so far no breakouts and I LOVE it. It goes on so smooth, it lasts throughout the day and I really think it has helped make my face look a little older because my bronzer and blush stay better throughout the day. This is my first time using Urban Decay products but I don't think its going to be my last!

Any fun beauty products that you've tried lately and loved? 

Music Meets Fashion: The Avetts Strike Again

I have been anxiously awaiting the new Avett Brothers album since I saw them in concert back in March. They had played some songs that were going to be on the album so it got me super excited. Now the day is finally here and after previewing the whole album on NPR this past weekend, I got inspired to create a couple of looks from the lyrics of some of my favorite songs.

"Geraldine" 

dress.heels.clutch.bangle.

"February Seven"

dress.boots.belt.necklace.ring.

So Avett fans, what's your favorite song off the new album?

on the streets of nyfw

Hello all! Sorry for my unexpected week off last week, the week before Labor Day was totally insane and I spent that long weekend decompressing and then work got busy leaving no time to blog! Oh life! But the good news is I'm back in action and its New York Fashion Week, one of my favorite times of the year. I spent this past weekend catching up on the first few days and oogling the dreamy collections. Another aspect of fashion week that I love so much is the street style, since the people attending fashion week are dressing for the current season, it gives you ideas that you can wear right now. These are a few of my favorite looks that have been spotted outside the shows. The best thing about my recreations is that each piece is less than $100 so you can be chic but frugal!

tee. pants. flats.belt. bag.

top.jeans.belt.heels.bag

top.skinnies.heels.bag.