Happy Halloween!

Holy Moly GEE!! I am beyond impressed with myself and everyone else who actively participated in Blogtober and published every day this month. I had my doubts some days and almost quit a few times, but here we are and we made it!

Happy Halloween to the rest of the world... I don't have a picture of me in my costume yet, but I figured I could at least show you my inspirations. I'm going for a Miss Hannigan/crazy lady next door look.

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and to add to the celebration- check out the Q&A session I had with one of the fabulous ladies over on my sidebar!

If you could travel to any place in the world, right now, where would you go? 
 I would definitely go to Sweden. Or maybe Harry Potter World. Probably Sweden because I'm hoping if the opportunity to travel anywhere spur of the moment would mean it's free. And because we have relatives and friends living in Sweden we would love to visit. 

Which celebrity is your soul-mate?  

 I'd like to think Joseph Gordon-Levitt is my celebrity soul-mate. Idk, I've never been super into a celebrity once I outgrew the boy band phase as a preteen.  I did use to have a very unhealthy attraction to Zac Efron.  Like, I saw Charlie St. Cloud in theaters. I PAID to see that.  Then I saw he got a YOLO tattoo and any sort of attraction disappeared. I kid you not. I never knew physical attraction could die so quickly. 

If you had to pick a favorite book, what would it be?   

Harry Potter, all seven (that totally counts as one).

Super powers GO: Invisibility or flight?   

Totally invisibility.  Being able to fly would be terrifying.

What are your 3 favorite posts: 

What I would tell my college freshman self

Mistakes every blogger makes 
That one time I tried to do an outfit post

What is your favorite quote?

"Throw kindness around like confetti" I mean, if there's anything the world needs, it's more kindness and confetti.

I second the confetti motion- and why yes of course the entire Harry Potter series counts as one book- I mean why wouldn't it? I hope you all stop by and say hello to Katie in one form or another. She is recently wed, has some great life advice and started an awesome Saturday link-up. Make sure to stop by and join in tomorrow!! 

blog/bloglovin/twitter/facebook/instagram/pinterest

Facts About Me!

We are so close to the end!! I seriously can't believe that I truly made through this challenge- I know I still have tomorrow but since that post is already half-written I will take this as a win. Anyways, there will be more celebrating tomorrow.

Today's prompt: Facts about ME! When I first started blogging I did a post with 25 facts about me. I'm not sure if I can whip about that many more but I will certainly give it my best shot...

• I do know how to knit but have currently been working on the same few projects for several years... I will finish them one day!

I made one mitten in this pattern (blue and coral colors) and only the wrist of the second...

•  My birthday is on the cusp of the astrological signs Leo and Virgo. I like to think that I am a little bit of both

• I've listened to the new Taylor Swift albums at least 20 times already this week...

•  I believe in ghosts and aliens

• I didn't start drinking coffee until I moved to NYC

• Winter is my favorite season- I'm so looking forward to snow!

• My favorite superhero is Wolverine (especially when played by Hugh Jackman)

• In 2010 I read over 200 books, I kept track in a word document. This included new and old stories- I would guess that I read about the same every year, give or take. (maybe this can be  new years resolution for 2015!)

And that's all I got for now. Come back tomorrow for the last day of blogtober and to find out my costume inspiration!!

My Most Embarrassing Moment

I know you are expecting something spectacular here- something you can laugh at for days, but in reality I don't have a "Most Embarrassing Moment". I mean I've definitely had moments that were embarrassing- but nothing that truly sticks out in my mind.

I lied- there is one moment of my life that was pretty embarrassing. When I was a junior in college I studied abroad in London. Towards the end of the semester we had a party for our group- it was rather small, I believe someone from our university may have been in town and the students and families we were living with were all invited to the soiree. As usual we were taking full advantage of the alcohol provided. The night winded down and some friends and I headed home towards the tube. Now, in London, unlike NYC, the underground closes at midnight. Sometimes the last train is even earlier. We made our way to Kings Cross (yes the harry potter one!!) and noticed a train was coming right that second, one of the last ones of the night- we ran as fast as we could to jump on and as I got onto the train I completely tripped, in my drinking state I had failed to actually life my legs to get into the train but just ran into the train- shins right into the siding, fall flat on my face. In that moment I laughed, but as soon as the doors closed I asked the friend with me if she wouldn't mind getting off at the next stop and waiting for the next train. We did, I laughed, had some bruises the next day and all was well.

In the scheme of things it wasn't a big deal, and I'm sure much worse has actually happened to me. On the whole though, nothing crazy or awful. I've never been stood up on a date, never tripped in front of a crush, no accidentally skirts tucked into underwear or toilet paper stuck to my foot. 

And there you have it- my most embarrassing moment (at this point in my life).

Things I am Superstitious About

I'm not naturally a superstitious person but there are some things I still do out of habit from childhood..

- kissing my hand then touching the ceiling of the car when driving through a red light. this is meant to stop the light from turning red while riding underneath the light

- holding my breath when driving/traveling past a graveyard/cemetery. I don't always do this but every once in a while I do it without even thinking about it. a second weird nature.

-twisting an apple stem to the alphabet, which whatever letter it comes out on is the first letter of your future husband/wife. Another one of those second nature things, I do it without consciously thinking about it.

and a few that you might not even realize you are doing, but that we all do, which technically are superstitions

-blowing out our birthday candles on the first try

-crossing our fingers for good luck

-wishing upon shooting stars

-knocking on wood to prevent something from happening

-saying g-d bless you to someone who sneezes.

The whole superstition world is kind of a funny thing, some just get ingrained in you from society and your family. Others people are truly afraid of what could happen, or adopt superstitions as they grow older.

What kinds of things are you superstitious about?

Apple Picking Adventure!

Hooray! I crossed another item off of my Fall bucket list- I'm way too impressed with myself and the progress I have made with this list this year. Woah.

I dragged a few friends out to Pennings Farm Orchard in Warwick, NY. It took about an hour + to drive there, a nice scenic route through the hills and mountains with lots of gorgeous fall leaves. We also listened to the new T-Swift album that a friend bootlegged. I give it absolute approval- T-Swift you've done it again!

The orchard was nice, they only had two varieties of apples left but we maneuvered our way through and found some delicious picks to snack on.

 After filling our bag of apples we went to the beer garden of the orchard that had some amazing house made hard apple cider, beer, and a bunch of other things. It had a great playground for kids, some chickens, goats and a sweet baby cow to pet and a great food area.

We ordered food, drinks, grabbed some sweets and goodies from the market area and then grabbed tasty doughnuts and fresh apple cider for the ride home.

Next year we now know to go earlier for a better apple variety but overall it was a lot of fun and I'm glad we made an adventure of it! 

who would play me in a movie?

well this post is a bit later than normal... sorry. this is mostly due to the fact that a) I finally went apple picking with my friends yesterday so was gone all day b)then my roommate had a halloween party that last until the wee hours of the night and c) because I literally just work up. eh- that's what sundays are for!  And now...

I'd like to thank the academy for having my life story made. I know, it's pretty intriguing. All those years spent nannying left me with some crazy stories about how people raise their children. I'd also like to thank you for considering all of these fantastic actresses for the role of moi.

Alison Brie

Kristen Bell

Cobie Smulders 

This is what my friends and I discussed on our drive to apple picking- we then proceeded to cast all of us in this untitled production. We even went as far as to think of a plot and villain. Yes, this is what we do in our driving times..

One Beauty Product I can't Live Without

For this I'm going to have to go with a good dry shampoo. My go to these days is Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk and it is seriously the most amazing product I've ever used. It's on the pricier side but worth every cent. A bottle runs about $19 (yikes! I know!) but a lot of Ricky's Stores, not sure if they are elsewhere, sell 2 for $29. I used to buy them on Birchbox (which is totally how I found out about this awesome stuff) but Ricky's is way way cheaper.

Klorane also makes a dry shampoo with nettle which is meant for even more oily hair, but I haven't tried it yet. Maybe I should though.. will keep you updated! 

I've tried many, many, many dry shampoos over the years. Some left weird a residue, some made my hair feel like butt. This one though, this one is a beautiful beautiful concoction of love. It makes me hair look clean (check- the whole point of a dry shampoo), it makes my hair manageable, it makes my hair feel soft, fresh and easy to run my fingers through.

Dry shampoo makes for an easier day in general, it cuts down on bathing time and then I don't feel weird if I decide to not wash my hair for a few days. I used to be a serious hair-washer, everyday if not twice. Now it's more of a 2-3/week. But it still looks and smells great because of this perfect product. don't ever leave me!

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And now on to the good stuff in life- introducing you to one of the awesome peeps who hangs out on my sidebar!

 "Hey, I'm Rachael, the writer behind The Rachael Way!  I blog about living in China, my struggles as an expat, being a first year teacher, life in general and the tough stuff.  Really, nothing is off limits on my blog.  I hope you'll stop by and say hello!"

 Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin'

Seriously though, this gal is pretty awesome. First off she just moved to CHINA to teach for the year (read some of her FAQs here). I love reading her posts about translations and prices, her post about the Chinese Wal-Mart blew my mind. Rachael has some great tips about growing up and enjoying life in general, and who doesn't appreciate someone whose favorite gif is of Zooey Deschanel.  We are all weird in our own ways and we gotta embrace it! Go say hello to Rachael and see what else she has been up to! (plus she just got a bloggy makeover and it looks fantastic!)

Happy Friday!!

annnnnddd because I want to shamelessly promote my new favorite jewelry line (Chloe & Isabel) make sure you ENTER the giveaway I've got going on right NOW! Only a few days left! You can check out my initial review and some of the goodies I got here.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Best Editing Apps I Use

I don't do as much editing as I should for this site but when I do decide to fix some pics there are a few apps and sites that are my go-tos.

first up- PicMonkey. This is by far the greatest tool I use, and if you don't have an account with them yet, then you need to go sign up, like right now. One, the site is free. You can pay a pretty reasonable fee ($33 for a year) to become a "Royal" member , which gives additional fonts, pictures yadayada-totally worth it. The site allows you to edit, create, touch-up and do just about whatever you want to your pictures. Lose a few pounds, add some pizazz, use it to make your pictures all the same size. PicMonkey = the best!

Besides picmonkey- I like to use...

ABM (A Beautiful Mess)- this one is great for making collages on your phone and adding some color, not much editing though

PicTapGo- this is one of the best for light editing, you can take a dark picture to a beautiful well lit photo with just a click

Repix- this is a new one for me, I haven't used it much but it's kind of a mixture between PicTapGo and Instagram.

and that's just about it...what types of apps do you like to use for editing?

My Fall Bucket List (update)

Well.. I already posted my Fall Bucket List a few weeks ago but it is also the Day 5 prompt for Blogtober14. So for now I will just give an update on my previous list..

 My Fall Bucket List for 2014:
1) Try a PSL again- okay so I haven't actually retried the PSL yet.. but I did try a chai latte with pumpkin spice syrup and it was AMAZING! It is now a fall favorite..

2) Go Apple Picking!- again, hasn't actually happened yet- but it is in the works! My friends for down for it, we have picked a weekend to go and are just narrowing down the millions of orchards. Woo-hoo!

3) Make a pumpkin pie from scratch.- haven't even attempted to get this far yet- although it may be my contribution for Thanksgiving dinner! 

4) Have a wine tasting party. - friends are also down for this one, but we are thinking a weekend in November will be best. Will update when we do it!

5) Watch Hocus Pocus- WINNER! This one I have actually completed- thanks to the Lifetime network! so perfect, in every way..

6) Find two pairs of great Fall boots. -Checkity check- what what? and it's only been like a week.I found a black pair earlier this week from Geox.

so progress has been made... perhaps I will actually complete my list this year!

Favorite Photo I've Posted on Instagram

Narrow down a posting to just one? Basically impossible- fact is I don't even post if I don't love it!! So I'm actually going to give you my top 5, and know that even this was a hard task to do..

Sunset in Spain- August 2013 Artwork in Panama- December 2013   Sleepy Sunday with my favorite cuddlebug
5 Year Reunion Group Butterbeer in Hogsmeade- enough said

One Thing You Can't Live Without

#Blogtober14- we enter day 3, and still going strong.

One Thing You Can't Live Without:

If we are getting technical then air would definitely be at the top of my list. I mean besides most of my body parts, as well as water- all are pretty up there for things I need to live.. but I don't think this was the intention of the post prompt.

this is a legit question folks

One thing I really couldn't live without- a very tough question. Since it is labeled "thing" I'm going to say this gives me the right to pick an object, no way I could ever narrow it to one person, or food item.

Mmmhmm- I'm beyond perplexed with that I would pick. I know when I take my hike through the woods having a comfortable sleeping bag/mat will be at the top of my list, besides a good stove. Honestly though when attached to society I think my computer is one thing I couldn't live without.

If I truly had to give up everything else, my computer would still give me a way to communicate, watch, play and relax. Obviously I would still be able to blog too.

this is basically my computer- macbook pro with a lovely purple cover. my world.

So I think that will be my final answer: my computer (#firstworldproblems). I can order groceries with it and take-out, play my Sims games (nerd alert!), Skype/chat/email, keep up with TV and movies. If I really wanted to I could even use it as a pillow, not very comfortable, but nonetheless it could do the job.

What is one thing you couldn't live without?