Fall Fun Series II: Thanksgiving & Black Friday

Happy Thanksgiving!

I’m really glad that this day is finally here. There are a lot of reasons why, but one is that I have been craving pumpkin pie all week; definitely more than usual this year. While preparing for the holiday at home, my candle & wax choices have been variations of pumpkin pie to tide me over. However, I made room for a sweet cranberry scent for good measure today. I don’t feel ready to switch over to winter scents, so I’ve been burning and melting a ton of fall goodness this week.

I’m heading out of town on Thanksgiving Day to visit with some relatives for a big dinner, drinks, and games. As usual, we tend to have more than one gathering, so I’ll be stuffing myself all weekend long. I hope that those of you celebrating Thanksgiving have a great time as well.

I don’t plan on shopping in stores on Black Friday (never have), but I might have to shop a little bit online. I splurged during Ulta’s Cyber Fundays sale already, but I’m considering a Barrett Wax Crafts order. I’m also eyeballing philosophy’s bubble baths. There are so many things going on sale, it’s hard to resist at least taking a look. Good luck to any of you braving the crowds this year!

 

Fall Fun Series II: Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

I didn’t put up a whole lot of spooky decor this year, but it’s just enough to attract trick-or-treaters with plenty of bright lights around the house.

Over the Halloweekend, I got to blow off steam at a couple of gatherings. One included dinner, wine, and cake for a birthday. The next day I made a batch of 5-layer taco dip for a party, where I dressed as an ’80s metal-head chick and gobbled up orange jello shots.

Tonight I will be baking Halloween chocolate chip cookies and watching American Horror Story: Cult on FX. We don’t get a ton of trick-or-treaters on my street, but I’m looking forward to the few we usually do get. If it isn’t too rainy, we may have a fire. I’d also love to continue watching Stranger Things!

One thing is for sure – I’ll be burning and melting tonight! I received a few The Bathing Garden wax melts from the Scare and Poisoned Graveyard collections: Mummy Mademoiselle, Phantom Queen, Boozy Vlad, Belle Morte, and Faerie Bonfire. I also ordered a few festive Colonial Candle scents this fall in Enchanted Spell, Glowing Jack O’ Lanterns, and Spooky Nights. Of course I’ll also burn Yankee Candle’s Sweet Seduction tonight.

 

I hope everyone enjoys a fun and safe, but spooky Halloween night. Don’t forget to visit the other Fall Fun Series bloggers and take a look at their Halloween festivities!

Amanda at Thrifty Polished (thriftypolished.blogspot.ca)

Jay at The Candle Enthusiast (thecandleenthusiast.wordpress.com)

Julie at The Redolent Mermaid (theredolentmermaid.com)

Michelle at Melting With Michelle (meltingwithmichelle.com)

Sandra at Finger Candy (fingercandy.ca or fingercandy.wordpress.com)

 

Fall Fun Series II: A Plethora of Pumpkins

Pumpkin spice update 2017: I’m still basic. However, there has been noticeably less straight-up pumpkin spice in my life this fall. If anything, the combination of pumpkin cake & frosting has taken its place. I found myself adding many scented candles and wax melts into various shopping carts over the summer that went along with that concept. It is the year of the pumpkin cupcake.

Yankee Candle’s Pumpkin Buttercream, Goose Creek’s Frosted Pumpkin Cake, and Bath & Body Works’ Pumpkin Cupcake are some new-to-me candle scents I’ve enjoyed this season. I originally planned to compare and contrast the three candles with one another, but each scent is unique in its own way and is a welcome addition to my fall collection.

I gathered up a few new-to-me pumpkin themed wax melts to use throughout the autumn season as well.

Vintage Chic Scents – Headless Great Pumpkin
Vintage Chic Scents – Loretta’s Haunted Plantation House
Dessa’s Homespun Scents – Pumpkin-Mallow Bake
The Bathing Garden – Pumpkin Pie Spice
The Bathing Garden – Banshee Dreams
Candles From The Keeping Room – Pumpkin Cupcake
Candles From The Keeping Room – Pumpkin Mocha Latte
Scentsy – Very Peary Pumpkin
Goose Creek – Pumpkin Caramel Swirl
Goose Creek – Pumpkin Pie
Goose Creek – Pumpkin Cinnamon Ice Cream
Super Tarts – Psycho
Super Tarts – Elm Street

 

The rest of my recently purchased & used pumpkin favorites so far this fall include decor, hand soaps, body care, and a couple more home fragrance items.

A sparkly gold 3-wick candle holder from Bath & Body Works, a festive Jack-o’-lantern towel for the kitchen, and last year’s mug I completely forgot about until the other day.

Yankee Candle’s Moonbeams on Pumpkins 2-wick tumbler, Bath & Body Works’ Pumpkin Cupcake room perfume, and three Bath & Body Works hand soaps: from last fall, Pumpkin Berry Crumble made with pumpkin butter, and from this fall, Pumpkin Cupcake made with pure honey, and Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin (Purrfect Pumpkin) in Halloween packaging.

Bath & Body Works’ Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin 3-wick candle, Kringle Candle’s Pumpkin Sage wax melt, and Sassy Girl Aroma’s Pumpkin Pecan Waffles Sugar Cookies chunk bag, to cover all pumpkin bases.

Bath & Body Works’ Marshmallow Pumpkin Latte body scrub and whipped body butter, made with pure honey. These products are divine!

And finally, a little farm pumpkin with a lot of character, and a random attempt at pumpkin-shaped cookies: Halloween-y gingerbread cookies with orange frosting and green sprinkles. I’ll need to get more creative with these for the next batch, but they were quite tasty.

 

 

Fall Fun Series II: In The Kitchen

This week is all about crafting and culinary adventures. I’ve been in the mood for soups and chilis lately and was holding onto a particular recipe for a couple of weeks. It was based off of a recipe from Ayesha Curry’s cookbook The Seasoned Life, and comes from the blog How Sweet Eats: Game Day Beer Chili.

The finished product is a well-balanced, hearty, and flavorful chili with enough servings in the pot to freeze plenty for later. I did need to tweak the recipe a little to suit what I had available when I spontaneously decided to make it after a family event.

What excited me the most about this recipe were the additions of maple syrup, cinnamon, and a can/bottle of beer. I chose the beer Madtown Nutbrown with the intriguing description: A blend of seven unique malts give this brown ale an earthy aroma and a flavor reminiscent of caramel with a slightly creamy finish.

 

Migraines and exams over the past week have prevented me from doing all of the crafting and baking that I planned to do by this point in the fall season. In lieu of making a sweet treat over the weekend, I threw together a very simple, but tasty latte a couple of times. The drink combined Starbucks’ dark roast coffee Caffè Verona, lightened with International Delight’s sugar free Pumpkin Pie Spice creamer, and flavored with Torani’s sugar free Salted Caramel syrup.

 

Another busy week precedes a trip to the pumpkin patch on a farm with family this weekend. I think this marks my first official autumnal outing, unless shopping and decorating for Halloween counts. What kind of fun fall activities has everyone been up to?

Fall Fun Series II: Festive Entertainment

My favorite thing to do during autumn nights is light a candle, fill a bowl with candy, and relax on the couch with festive entertainment. My boyfriend and I have begun our annual ritual of watching creepy movies and TV shows all October long. Last year, we committed to watching all of The Simpson’s thirty-or-so Treehouse of Horror episodes. This year, we’ve been less ambitious, but still plenty spooky already.

Some TV favorites we’ve started watching are the newest season of American Horror Story and re-runs of Dexter for slashers, and The Good Place for lighthearted fall entertainment. We’re patiently waiting for the return of Mr. Robot and Stranger Things; we’re big fans of both shows. Of course, I’ll need to check out The Walking Dead as well. I stick with that show like a bad relationship.

 

I’ve been loving the festive shows on Food Network this fall. Halloween Wars and Halloween Baking Championship have helped us get into the holiday spirit, and they’ve also inspired me to get more creative in the kitchen. I can always use new ideas for spooky Halloween treats – this year, I learned about using peanuts for zombie teeth! Icky!

 

For scary movies, we’ve seen The Shining, Blair Witch, and House on Haunted Hill so far this year. Possibly more, and most likely some that I’ve slept through because my schedule has been busy and odd. I still have to see the new IT, as I unfortunately missed my chance to last month. Chances are pretty good that we will watch some of our Rob Zombie favorites. I’d like to put on the Quentin Tarantino Grindhouse double feature as I’ve always been a huge fan of his style and those two films are definitely creepy and gory.

 

I don’t do a lot of reading for pleasure during the fall semester. I’m usually only reading out of textbooks. However, the boyfriend and I have been sitting on A Song of Ice and Fire audio books for a few months now, and will be starting those within the next few days. This will fit in perfectly during work outs, bubble baths, and bed time for the rest of the season. In my opinion, it is the best time of year to geek out on this series.

 

Fall Fun Series II: Favorite Fall Scent

There are a few home fragrances that I absolutely must have around during the fall season. Anything and everything pumpkin spice, everything related to toasting marshmallows over the fire, and anything that captures the essence of leaves. If I had to pick just one, though, it has be the aroma of fallen autumn leaves. Bath & Body Work’s 3-wick Leaves candle is my top choice, but I have found a few that are close dupes, some that are similar, and a couple in this scent family that are quite different, but still very well loved.

 

Bath & Body Works – Leaves
– Crisp red apple, golden nectar, and warm clove spice
719 Walnut Avenue – Walk in the Woods
– Maple and birch woods, tangy pomegranate, juniper, and orange

Goose Creek – Crunchy Leaves
– Autumn leaves, cinnamon, black currant, tangerine, cedar wood, oak bark, and amber
Better Homes & Gardens – Crisp Fall Leaves
– Crisp harvest air and warm all spice
Kringle Candle – Leaves
– Leaves, woods, citrus, and spice

Scentsy – Falling Leaves
– Herbal patchouli, sweet and spicy cinnamon, and clove
Colonial Candle – Falling Leaves
– Freshly fallen leaves, ambered spices, and warm harvest grains
Dessa’s Homespun Scents – Fall Foliage
– Earthy autumn leaves after the rain, and crackling logs on the fire

Candles From The Keeping Room – Leaves (Type)
– Cinnamon, dried apple peel, allspice, fresh clove bud, and Vermont maple
Vintage Chic Scents – The Addams Family (Leaves Type)

 

I loved pulling each of these products out and comparing/contrasting all of the scent notes. It’s funny how some fragrances are so similar, but are described so differently… Or they are described similarly, but smell completely different! Dessa’s blend is probably the most unique out of this list, which I sort of expected, followed by the Scentsy wax bar.

I was meant to also share my least favorite fall fragrance, but since I already sorta trashed apple scents, I won’t rain on that parade anymore!

 

Fall Fun Series II: Fall Fashion

I was shopping for fall wax and hand soaps yesterday and I grabbed a sweater on my way out the door. It was the first day of fall, so I assumed: it will be chilly this evening, I better take this! No, it was hot and humid. It sat in the car the whole time. I didn’t even want a Pumpkin Spice Latte as I passed Starbucks, so I didn’t see if the fall cups were out yet! There have been plenty of cool days, however. I already took out my boxes of fall and winter clothing and have slowly moved out the summer wear.

I’m crazy about scarves, but I haven’t added many to my collection lately. I added a couple of shawls to my wardrobe last autumn, but I haven’t come across those yet. I’m excited about a few other new things I got with autumn in mind. I bought this cute Betsey Johnson bag at Macy’s back in the spring, but I put it away thinking I’d love it more in the fall. I was right.

 

My mother brought this necklace back for me from her recent trip to Germany. Although they are flowers, the colors just scream “autumn” to me. I’m sure it will be worn a lot this season.

 

I’m big on fuzzy socks during the colder months of the year. I love them even more than scarves. I’ll spare you… I won’t show the old, used socks in my collection! These ones are new and I can’t wait to wear ’em. One pair is solid brown and the other is green and brown with white snowflakes.

 

Owl leggings. Of course I needed to grab these. They’ll match perfectly with the fuzzy socks!

 

This is Aesop Rock merch, but I actually got this hoodie with Halloween in mind. I put on cat ears and makeup when I went trick-or-treating with my niece and nephew last year, so I think the freaky cat will match perfectly with the same get-up.

 

And lastly… this is not my picture, sadly. These have not yet arrived at my home, but they should be here next week. New booties!

 

That does it for my new fall fashion favorites. I’m sure I will be adding plenty more as it gets colder and colder here in the Midwest. Check out how fashionable the other Fall Fun Series bloggers are going to be this fall:

Amanda at Thrifty Polished (thriftypolished.blogspot.ca)

Jay at The Candle Enthusiast (thecandleenthusiast.wordpress.com)

Julie at The Redolent Mermaid (theredolentmermaid.com)

Michelle at Melting With Michelle (meltingwithmichelle.com)

Sandra at Finger Candy (fingercandy.ca or fingercandy.wordpress.com)

 

Fall Fun Series II: All About Apples

I’ll come right out and say it… for the most part, I do not like apples. I know, I’m weird. Most fruits are hit or miss for me, as far as snacking on ’em goes. However, I have found that I can tolerate the artificial scent of apples, preferably mixed with other yummy smells. For instance, the Warm Apple Pie wax melts & candles by Mainstays took me by surprise a few autumns ago. No recipes or decor for this girl, but, I do have a few new-to-me apple scents that I am excited to use this fall, much to the surprise of those that have ever lived with my love/hate/mostly hate relationship with apples.

 

I lucked out and bought several sugar scrubs from Bath & Body Works when they were on sale for only $6. Champagne Apple & Honey is a returning fall fragrance with notes of pink lady apple, sparkling champagne, and jasmine honey.

 

Caramel Applewood from Goose Creek is pretty much what I expected: green apple, caramel, and wood. I skipped this scent the past two fall seasons, but I made sure I grabbed it this time.

 

The Supernatural Victorian sampler from Vintage Chic Scents included two yummy apple melts. Witch’s Chair is Vermont honey apple and Vanilla Lace (Victoria’s Secret type), and Sanderson Sisters has notes of green apple, caramel, candy corn, and marshmallow.

 

Apple & Oats was one of many free samples I received from Candles From The Keeping Room last month. Its scent description includes crisp apple slices, steel cut oats, Tupelo honey, tart apple peel, vanilla extract, and maple sugar. Yummm. I feel spoiled already.

 

Even though the weather has started to change where I live, this past week+ has felt very un-autumn-like to me. I’ve temporarily slowed down on my pumpkin frenzy. My mother and I celebrated our birthdays along with two others in our family. For these occasions, I’ve gravitated more towards simple vanilla cake type scents, and I’ve enjoyed gazing at fresh flowers more than my pumpkins. I did, however, purchase my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season, and started the first late night fire. I’m curious to see if anyone is in full fall mode yet. I am certainly in full fall semester mode.

 

Fall Favorites Tag: Remixed

I am not a warm weather person. It is uncomfortably humid where I live, so my summers are sticky and suffocating. On the flip-side, my winters are frozen and eternal. The spring and fall months are my reprieves, so I get very excited once they arrive.

To help immerse myself into the first official week of fall, I thought it would be fun to try out the Fall Favorites tag that became popular among beauty gurus on YouTube last fall. Since I am a scent junkie, and not a beauty guru, I decided to tweak the questions a little to suit my interests!

 
Favorite Candle
Bath & Body Works – Leaves

This is just my perfect autumn fragrance. It’s the first scent that I think of in relation to the fall season, and it’s the only one I cannot go without once the season begins.

 

Favorite Wax Melt
Goose Creek – Campfire Marshmallow

This scent is very, very similar to a popular pick for the candle question, which is Bath & Body Works – Marshmallow Fireside. However, I prefer Goose Creeks’ version by far. It is stronger, and in my opinion, the scent throw is much better. Highly recommended!

 

Favorite Body Care
Bath & Body Works – Plum Cider Warmth

These products are from the 2015 fall traditions line. I regret not buying a matching shower gel, or the full-sized bottle of fragrance mist. They seemed to sell out fast.

 

Favorite Perfume
Victoria’s Secret – Forever Sexy

I have a whole mob of perfumes for cooler weather, but this rollerball has been my favorite transitional warmer-to-cooler weather choice for the past 2 fall seasons.

 

Favorite Lip Color
NYX – Devil’s Food Cake

I prefer lip glosses to lipsticks, and the Nyx Butter Glosses are pigmented enough to put deep fall shades on my lips, while providing the glossy finish that I like.

 

Favorite Eyeshadow Palette
Too Faced – Chocolate Bon Bons

I didn’t think of this as a fall-related palette until this past month, and now I can’t stay away from it. The deep browns, the mauve/taupe and gray shades… it’s just so perfect for the season.

 

Favorite Clothing Item
Scarves!

A scarf paired with a sweater is likely how one would see me dressed between October and March, whether I’m inside or outside.

 

Favorite Drink
Pumpkin Spice Latte

I like both homemade and Starbucks PSLs. If it’s one of those times when I’m trying to lay off of the caffeine, then my go-to fall drink is a decaf vanilla chai tea latte… but I’ll still be craving a PSL.

 

Favorite Dessert
Tie-dye Cupcakes

I love making these spooky, colorful treats for Halloween gatherings. They are especially great because it’s a surprise whenever someone bites into them!

 

Favorite Thanksgiving Food
Pumpkin Pie

The truth is, I LOVE Thanksgiving dinner. All of it. I like to cook each dish, I like to eat each dish, I like the days of leftovers that follow. I couldn’t pick just one, so I decided to go for the dessert – pumpkin pie. The reason why is that I can have Thanksgiving dishes year-round, but I pretty much only have pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. It’s a little more special.

 

Favorite Fall Movie
Rob Zombie Movies

This guy just does creepy really well, but what I appreciate the most are the bits of humor that sneak by in his films. The Halloween remake was festive and entertaining.

 

Favorite Fall TV Show
American Horror Story

I watch AHS every fall, as well as The Walking Dead, but I’m not a superfan of either show. I’m a Game of Thrones girl. However, I have enjoyed watching each season of American Horror Story so far. Season 2: Asylum was my favorite, and one I may have to re-watch.

 

Favorite Halloween Costume

Simple, easy, and obvious is the way I go for Halloween – or I should say, this is the stage that I’ve graduated to now. I killed it on costumes as a kid. I did cool face paint looks as a teen. I did “sexy” costumes as a young adult. Since age 24, I may have drinks with friends or take my nieces out trick or treating for Halloween, but I’ll typically stay home, eat candy, and watch horror movies with my boyfriend. (Picture: We dressed as Handsome Devils.)

 

I tag everyone to do the Fall Favorites tag, whether it is my remixed version, or the original by Jaclyn Hill!

Fall Fun Series: Favorite Fall Item

I’m jumping in a little late here, but am excited to participate in the Fall Fun Series; a series of fall-related posts on Mondays and Fridays, until after Thanksgiving, along with a group of other bloggers that I look forward to getting to know! I was searching for fall tags that I could post about on the first official day of fall when I came across the Fall Fun Series, and it seemed right up my alley.

There were a number of things that came to mind when I thought about my favorite fall item, but what really stood out to me were my solar dancing woodland creatures. These are placed on a window sill, or in any other bright, sunny area, and will “dance” while they are in the sun. They’re small and adorable, and are my favorite little way of bringing fall inside with me.

My sister-in-law and I hosted Thanksgiving dinner two years ago and some family friends that joined us gifted us the solar dancing turkey. We’re an easily amused bunch, so whenever the turkey started flapping its wings, one of us was sure to point it out and we’d celebrate what little sunlight we receive here in the Midwest when it gets cold. Since then, I just don’t want to cook on Thanksgiving day without this little guy present.

I was able to find this particular turkey on Amazon for about $10, should any of you be interested in purchasing one of his cousins. You can purchase the solar dancing turkey here along with all kinds of other dancing, sunlight-activated critters.

A solar dancing owl recently moved into my window sill and has been flapping in the sun since September 1st. The turkey will join him after Halloween.

 

To celebrate the first official day of fall this Thursday, I decided to give my Pumpkin French Toast candle from Bath & Body Works a shot. Holy cow, is this one strong. This is as far as the wax had pooled out before the entire bedroom and hallway were scented:

It is late into the evening the following day and I am still catching whiffs of maple syrup. It smells like all I’ve cooked for myself in the last 24 hours is french toast! I LOVE strong fall scented candles, but since this one packs such a punch of breakfast-y goodness, I may have to be selective about when I decide to burn this 3-wick candle (and around whom).