LindsSays: Fall

Showing posts with label Fall. Show all posts

Yeah yall. My friend told me about this spiked cider/vodka cider mix/use of caramel vodka the other night and at first I was like "ew--but I'm intrigued" and rushed to the liquor store, and here I am on my 3rd one of the evening and I'm like "yes--everyone should know about this". Let me list the things I love about it: so fall, it's like a childhood sweet all grown up (see also: jello shots, shark bites, etc), and it is also pretty much mandatory for fall so I don't feel bad drinking it alone. #notsorry #thanksfall. So here it is, are you ready for this? It's much easier than making actual candy apples...

Servings: 1
Prep Time: approximately 5 seconds

Ingredients:

1.5 ounces of caramel vodka (1 ounce = 1 shot. This is among the important things I learned in college)
1/2 Cup Apple Cider
{optional} splash of apple pucker (my friend uses this, I don't. Which way is better?!)
Ice

Fill your cup up with ice. Pour in the vodka, pour in the cider, stir, drink. If you don't like the sweetness replace the vodka with whiskey. Tastes best with a pumpkin candle burning and chili cooking in the crockpot.

Sidenote: how cute and proper are my little rocks glasses? Got 4 for $5 at Target.

Grown Up Candy Apples: The Alcoholic Version

Friday, October 25, 2013

It's Halloween! The most wonderful time of year for those of us who are extremely Type A and DIY-centric! Every year I resolve to DIY the shit out of Halloween, and every year on the night before Halloween as I rush to freaking Arlington to the closest arts & crafts store (really, DC? no Michael's? No Hobby Lobby? NOTHING?), I swear I will never ever do a DIY Halloween again. Old dreams die hard though.

These are my all time favorite group costumes- who doesn't love group costumes? A time to get creative, show off that you have friends, and boss everyone around (I SAID WEAR THE HAT TO LEFT SIDE. LEFT. SIDE.). Check out my DIY instructions as well as where to order the costumes (time to order now!) if you have learned your lesson about DIY Halloweens.

Note: None of these are my pictures, but they are all costumes I have done at some point in time. Man wasn't college great?

Tetris Pieces: This is an easy DIY, but not so easy to wear to the bar. You can either tape boxes together and cut out room down the center for your body and a hole for your face, or do what I did in college. We cut out cardboard squares, painted them, duct taped them together to make the shapes we wanted, and then taped those to our clothes. This method was much more mobile, and you can make your tetris pieces any size you want.
Legends of the Hidden Temple Teams: Who doesn't love this show? My brother and I used to save the 30 minutes of precious TV time we were allowed just to cheer on our beloved Blue Barracudas. This website is devoted completely to Legends of the Hidden Temple gear, and nothing is more than $20.
M&Ms: This is a SUPER easy DIY. Envision a sandwich sign. We bought a few yards of green, red, yellow, orange and white felt and cut them into large circles (about 2-3 feet in diamter). We cut "m"s out of the white felt and hot glued them onto the circles. Then using the leftover fabric scrap, we cut strips (about 10" by 3"), hot glued one end of the "strap" to the top of one circle, and the other end onto the corresponding circle to serve as "straps" and hung them over our shoulders like sandwich sign M&Ms. If you don't have time to make them (slash venture all the way to Arlington for fabric), Amazon has $5-$20 options .
Power Rangers: Great group costume, not as easy to DIY.Amazon has $25-$50 options. While that seems like a lot of money, it's a REAL badass costume, and let's be real- there will be plenty of opportunities over this lifetime to wear this costume.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: My old go-to! It's so easy. Supplies needed: 1 yard of yellow felt, 4 yards brown felt, green tshirts, string, newspaper. We got green t-shirts and hot glued yellow felt squares (i.e. the abs) onto the front of the shirts. For the shells: cut 2 large circles out of the brown felt (the size of a backpack- about 2' by 2'). Stack the two circles on top of each other and hotglue them together around the edges, leaving the top open. Once the glue is dry, stuff the "shells" with wadded up newspaper, then close off the top with hot glue. Glue the strings onto the shells as "straps"- just like backpack straps- that you can slip your arms through. We just cut up old sheets to be our face masks. If you need to,Amazon has options for real turtle costumes.
Crayons: This doesn't have to be "sexy". One year we kept it simple and each chose a color, wore that color on top and bottom (i.e. blue tshirt, blue shorts), and painted pointy party hats (you can find these at Target) our color to be the tip of the crayon. If you want to be elaborate or "cute" you can make tube dresses out of fabric from Michael's, but that's a lot of work. This website has $10 Crayon Costumes too.

Broke & Bougie Halloween Costumes

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

As soon as cooler weather sets in my wardrobe turns grey and black. This year's fall resolution: try to look alive- cut back on the black and grey! Cue the patterned blazer. These are some great options to spice up the work wardrobe but still keep it professional.

LC Lauren Conrad Floral Tux Blazer $21.00 @ Kohls: My girl makes great work clothes for really affordable prices. Love love love this, especially how the black collar and zipper pockets that tone it down a bit.
Sofia by Sofia Vergara Women's Open Front Blazer- Leopard Print $29 @ K-Mart: So yeah, I guess K-Mart's still here thanks to Sofia Vergara. I actually read somewhere that she is making mad bank off her K-Mart clothing line, surprising since I didn't know K-Mart was making bank off anything right now. But hey, this is a classy looking leopard blazer and I like the look of this with bright pants and a neutral blouse.
Jersey Blazer Dark Blue/Pattern $17 @ H&M : I know, it's jersey. But it actually looks professional and is super comfortable and not too bunchy (you know how blazers can be that way?). I like how this incorporates comfort, professionalism and the geo-tribal-pattern or whatever we're calling it this season.
Mossimo Women's Printed Sateen Blazer Jacket $17 @ Target: I've really been dating myself lately by saying "I miss when I used to go to Target with $20 and come out with at least 2 pieces of good clothing", but they're back at it with affordable clothes. The light sateen fabric is great for sweaty people like me (hello I just walked 5 blocks from a crowded bus can we please turn the heat in this office down). It's a pretty busy pattern, I would pair it with a black or white shirt and black pants, or put it over a black or white dress.

Fall Workwear: The Pattern Blazer {under $30}

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

HEY FALL!

Fall is here it's here it's here it's here! On Sunday I sat on the couch, nursing a Saturday Football Hangover (GO DAWGS!!), reading a book (Devil in the White City- great read, especially when it's a free e-book) with Andi wrapped in blankets with the windows open while chili cooked in the crock pot (which I got from Goodwill for $10- if you don't have access to Goodwill Amazon has great options for inexpensive crockpots here ). It smelled so delicious, tasted freaking amazing, and for like $15 could feed a small village). Here's the breakdown:

Clean Crokpot Turkey Chili {with a kick}

Monday, September 30, 2013

I have listened to a lot of panels comprised of very important people (CEOs, female leaders in male dominated industries, etc etc), and for some reason one VP's quote has stood out in my head for years: "You have to dress the part of the job you want, no matter what job you are currently working". Maybe this has always stood out to me because I have never made enough money to dress the way I want to dress, add to that being a woman in the workplace presenting millions of questions like what is too racy? what is too conservative? do I look stuffy? do I look like I'm trying to dress like my male counterparts?

Anyway, this season you can't go wrong with the Ponte blazer. Everyone from CEOs to VPs to non-profit workers to artists are wearing these. I like the versatility- I pair mine with jeans if I have somewhere "nice but not too nice" to go; my black blazer goes with colored dress pants; and I have an orange one that I wear to spice up black pants. The fabric and the make of the ponte make it light and somewhat form-fitting which makes me feel like I look skinnier than when I wear my old blazers that are a bit less flattering. Here's where I've found the best steals on the Ponte:

Mossimo Women's Collarless Ponte Blazer from Target- Assorted Colors: $30.00. This comes in black, cinnamon cake (great fall color), officer blue, and railroad gray. So basically black, orange, blue and gray. You can only get them online and my experience with Mossimo sizing is that it's pretty much on par with other brands. One of the reviews claims this blazer is friendly for the large chested (not an issue for me, unfortunately).
Solid Open Blazer from Forever 21: $27.80. Comes in black only, and sorry about the model who looks like pre-rehab Lindsay Lohan. The sizes generally run a little small at Forever, but I like the look of the sleeves. It is also somewhat slimming as it doesn't have the extra fabric for closing the front.
Methaphor Ruched Ponte Blazer from Sears: $18.00. Comes in 8 (yes EIGHT!) different colors- my favorites are raspberry and mustard. Comes in petite which is nice for those of us who were "blessed" with wide hips and narrow shoulders. On that note I think I like these blazers so much because none of them come over the hip, and my big hips/butt make my whole body look much bigger in jackets that cover the bum.
Attention Women's Ponte Blazer- Faux Trim from K-Mart: $20.99. Before Sofia Vergara came into the picture I thought K-Mart was extinct, but they've been reincarnated. I like the "leather" trim on this blazer, gives it kind of an edge. You can order it and pay shipping or get free store pick-up, which confirms they are in fact still a physical store.

Workwear: The Ponte Blazer for Under $30

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Looks just like chili right? Tricked yaaaa haha

I had to laugh as I'm posting this because I really tricked a few people with this one. Soo Monday in about 20 minutes I threw together this red bean and quinoa mix and we had it for supper (and then for lunch the next few days). Thursday, I added leftover ground turkey from Taco Tuesday and some leftover tomato sauce from the Italian Quinoa Bake and the BF said "Whoa when did you have time to make chili?!" And I was like "Oh I found some time..." [evil laughs]. Anyway here's the recipe the Quinoa & Red Beans, as well as Quinoa & Red Beans Part II: Fake Chili.

Part I: Quinoa & Red Beans

Prep Time:5 minutes

Cook Time:20 minutes

Servings: 8 (total)

EASY Quinoa & Red Beans That Doubles as CHILI!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

I may have spent half my salary on wedding gifts this year, leaving me with approximately $25 to buy dresses to wear to said weddings- my budget is especially low because we all know we can't be wearing the same dress in every Facebook/Instagram photo op. These are my favorite options I found (I wore #1 to a wedding last weekend!)

1. H&M Petrol Jersey Dress $24.99. I love this color- bright but not too bright. I wore it with a Forever21 bib necklace, a gold belt from Ross, and Nine West nude pumps I found at Goodwill for $10 (is that gross?). I appreciate this dress's flair at the waist because it prevented people from saying "whoa look at her ass- she really let herself go this summer". Second favorite thing: it runs in Small/Medium/Large so you can avoid the H&M terror of buying a dress that is 10 sizes bigger than you would buy anywhere else.
2. H&M Sleeveless Dress in Burgundy $30: Glad I didn't wear this one this weekend because two people at the wedding were wearing this exact dress. Guess they were scoutin out the H&M sale rack at the last minute too. Anyway, this color is everything this fall, can't wait to get me some burgundy pants.
3. Merona Women's Ponte Crossover Neckline Dress from Target $27.99: Hey Target, welcome back to my price range! I have been so tired of only being able to find dresses over $40 there lately, but they did me right by this dress. It's flattering on the big booties too (a major plus in my book).
4. Glam Dot A-Line Dress from Forever 21 $29.80: I feel a certain way about polka dots, but this is an exception. I like the pleats and the zipper/collar in the back and the length. Sidenote: has Forever 21 always been this skanky or am I growing up? My word, I hate being this old sometimes

2013 Fall Wedding [guest] Fashion under $30

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Orange Infinity Knit Scarf from Zulily- order here

So I'm about to be the most typical white girl and talk about how much I just looove fall, but I really do. This summer has been so hot and rainy and honestly I just can't drink anymore summer sangria and frozen margaritas, plus I have essentially sweated out all my summer clothes. Enter: Fall. Football season means all we drink is beer and bourbon, and cooler weather means we get to switch up the wardrobe a bit with BOOTS AND SCARVES. I ordered my first scarf of the season on Zulily today for $13.99 (shipping is usually $5.00 but my bargain shopping and couponing has earned me free shipping for an order). I also scoped out a few other good scarf deals:

Elegant Solid Color Infinity Loop Circle Scarf: $9.99 + $4.99 shipping on Amazon: